=i=F 


I'lUyCKTON,  N.  J. 


I     ^-  ^W^  Section 

I     No.  Booh\  % 


'he  John  3U.  Krebs  Donation. 


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^r0pljttir  Stiifes. 


LECTUEES  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL. 


CUMMING'S  WOEKS, 


UNIFORM   EDITION. 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON 


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CUMMING'S  LECTURES  ON  THE  PARABLES. 

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The  Rev.  John  Gumming,  D.D.,  is  now  the  great  pulpit  orator  of  London, 
as  Edward  Irving  was  some  twenty  years  since.  But  very  different  is  the 
Doctor  to  that  strange,  wonderfully  eloquent,  but  erratic  man.  There  could 
not  by  possibility  be  a  greater  contrast.  The  one  all  fire,  enthusiasm,  and 
semi-madness ;  the  other  a  man  of  chastened  energy  aind  convincing  calmness. 
The  one  like  a  meteor,  flashing  across  a  troubled  sky,  and  then  vanishing 
suddenly  in  the  darkness;  the  other  like  a  silver  star,  shining  serenely,  and 
illuminating  our  pathway  with  its  steady  ray.  He  is  looked  upon  as  the  great 
champion  of  Protestantism  in  its  purest  form.  His  church  is  densely  crowded 
by  the  most  intellectual  and  thinking  part  of  that  crowded  city,  while  his 
writings  have  reached  a  sale  unequalled  by  those  of  any  theological  writer  of 
the  present  day.  His  great  work  on  the  "  Apocalypse,"  upon  which  his  great 
reputation  as  a  writer  rests,  having  already  reached  its  15th  edition  in  England, 
while  his  "Lectures  on  the  Miracles,"  and  those  on  "Daniel,"  have  passed 
through  six  editions  of  1000  copies  each,  and  his  "Lectures  on  the  Parables" 
through  four  editions,  all  within  a  comparatively  short  time. 


^rjjjj|etic  StiiWes. 


LECTUEES 


THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 


BY 


THE  KEY.  JOIIN  CIBIMESTG,  D.D. 

MINISXER    OF    THE    SCOTCH    NATIONAL    CHUKCH,    AUTHOR    OP    APOCALYPTIC    SKETCHES, 
LECTURES    ON    THE    MIRACLES,   PARABLBS,  ETC.  ETC. 


"  "We  have  also  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy ;  ■whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed, 
as  unto  a  lii;ht  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place,  \intil  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  ari.-:e 
in  your  hearts." — 2  Pet.  i.  19. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

LINDSAY    A]^D    BLAKISTOK 

1854. 


PREFACE. 


In  these  Lectures  on  Daniel  tlie  Prophet,  there  will  be 
found  scarcely  a  single  discovery  or  application  of  pro- 
phetic symbol  which  is  not  already  familiar  to  all  students 
of  prophecy.  They  were  not  prepared  for  the  learned: 
they  are  addressed  to  the  multitude.  I  have  paid  some 
attention  to  the  critical  investigation  of  this  ancient  and 
instructive  prophecy ;  I  have  studied  more  or  less  closely 
the  varied  and  interesting  exegeses  of  many  learned  and 
laborious  critics,  and  from  these  I  have  derived  much 
information ;  but  in  these  pages  I  do  not  attempt  to  pre- 
sent an  analysis  of  such  labours,  or  to  enunciate  the  com- 
ponent elements  of  the  conclusions  I  have  formed,  and 
herein  expressed.  I  find  it  takes  all  my  strength,  as  well  as 
all  I  have  learned  and  read,  to  enable  me  to  make  my  mean- 
ing plain.  I  am  satisfied  in  these  Studies  to  appeal  to,  and 
interest  and  instruct  the  masses.  One  may  appreciate  the 
honour  of  speaking  to  scholars,  but  feel  still  more  the  duty 
of  addressing  mankind.  I  rejoice  at  witnessing  the  loftiest 
forms  so  splendidly  occupied  as  they  now  are.  I  pray 
they  may  be  covered  with  yet  greater  and  more  illustrious 


6  PREFACE. 

scholarsliip.  I  am  content  to  stand  below  and,  learning 
daily  as  I  do  from  the  master  spirits  above  me,  to  spread 
far  and  wide  what  I  Lave  gathered,  in  the  most  intelligible 
and  acceptable  words,  among  the  "thousands  of  Israel."* 
I  have  invariably  tried  to  bring  out  not  only  thd  doctrinal, 
but  the  practical  and  comforting  truths  which  are  more  or 
less  latent  in  the  sublime  and  mysterious  predictions  and 
symbols  of  the  future.  I  have  not,  I  trust,  forgotten  indi- 
vidual responsibility  and  requirement  in  my  endeavours  to 
trace  out  the  course  of  the  Church,  the  fall  of  dynasties, 
and  the  revolutions  of  empires,  as  they  are  delineated  on 
the  prophetic  chart,  and  by  no  means  obscurely  predicted 
by  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

In  this,  as  in  every  portion  of  the  word  of  God,  there 
are  proclaimed  grand  saving  truths.  Amid  the  foliage  of 
prophecy — amid  the  flowers  of  poetry — in  the  details  of 
biography,  and  in  the  long  annals  of  national  or  universal 
history,  truths  profitable  or  refreshing  or  sanctifying  to  the 
soul  flash  forth  continually.  God  in  Providence  never 
omits  to  feed  the  minutest  insect  in  his  provision  for  the 
greatest  and  the  most  important  of  created  intelligences.  In 
his  Word  there  is  living  bread  for  the  soul  of  the  humblest, 
as  well  as  warning  and  instruction  and  reproof  for  kings 
and  nations.  In  the  pages  of  the  Prophets,  as  truly,  if 
not  as  fully  as  in  the  pages  of  the  Evangelists,  such  truths 

"•■■•"  Tho  critical  disquisitions  of  Hengstenberg,  the  eloquent  and  philosophical 
investigations  of  Birks — not  to  speak  of  Medc,  Wintle,  and  the  two  Newtons — 
are  truly  valuable.     Stuart,  as  usual  on  prophetic  subjects,  is  not  to  be  trusted. 


PREFACE.  7 

as  the  following  are  written :  "  Sin  has  entered,  and  death 
by  sin."  The  world  was  not  made  as  we  find  it;  it  has 
undergone  some  dread  and  terrible  disaster.  Ask  the  phi- 
losopher to  explain  this,  and  he  is  dumb !  xisk  nature  her- 
self, through  any  of  her  oracles,  and  she,  too,  is  dumb  ! 
Her  groans,  that  have  not  ceased  since  the  creation,  are 
the  only  replies  to  your  question.  But  consult  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  inquire  at  them.  What  is  at  fault  ?  Their  reply  is, 
Sin  has  entered,  and  death  by  sin.  The  earth  was  created 
holy  and  beautiful.  God  pronounced  it  good.  Man's  sin 
has  unhinged  it.  Every  flower  was  once  fragrance ;  every 
sound  was  once  harmony ;  every  sight  was  beauty ;  but  sin 
has  fallen  upon  the  earth,  like  a  drop  of  ink  on  the  sensi- 
tive blotting-paper,  encircling  with  its  poisonous  influence 
the  widest  sphere,  until  the  whole  earth  is  tainted — 
stricken,  as  it  were,  with  paralysis,  groaning  in  travail, 
waiting  for  redemption.  The  intellect  is  darkened  by  the 
exhalations  arising  from  the  swamps  of  sin.  The  truth  is 
not  seen  in  its  beauty ;  not  because  it  is  dimly  enunciated, 
but  because  the  eye  of  him  who  looks  upon  it  has  become 
dim.  The  conscience  also  has  become  depraved,  diseased, 
polluted.  What  a  change  has  passed  upon  that  faculty 
which  was  once  the  echo  of  the  voice  of  God — the  bright 
daguerreotype  reflection  of  his  own  holy  image!  It  too 
labours,  as  if  anxious  to  be  emancipated — to  regain  its 
lost  sovereignty,  and  govern  once  more  the  heart  and  the 
afi*ections  of  the  soul. 

Not  only  is  the  conscience  and  heart  of  man  diseased, 


8  PREFACE. 

but  out  of  that  heart  in  which  God  once  dwelt — once  the 
holy  chancel,  as  it  were,  of  created  being — proceed  adul- 
tery, murders,  thefts,  and  all  uncleanness.  The  gold  has 
become  dim,  the  fine  gold  has  changed,  man  is  altogether 
degenerate ;  and  this  change,  this  dread  affliction,  is  not 
individual,  peculiar,  limited,  but  universal;  there  is  no 
spot  upon  the  earth  it  has  not  reached — no  climate  where 
it  is  not  felt.  It  has  entered  the  hut  of  the  Indian,  the 
cave  of  the  Greenlander,  the  cabin  of  the  semi-savage 
Irishman,  the  cottage  of  the  peasant,  and  the  palace  of 
the  king;  its  voice  mingles  with  the  debates  of  parlia- 
ment, congress,  and  divan.  It  colours  all  circumstances ; 
it  is  seen  in  the  flames  of  hamlets,  and  heard  in  the  roar 
of  revolution ;  it  rides  on  the  storm.  1848  was  an  inci- 
dental testimony  of  what  sin  is ;  all  history  shows  it  has 
made  Golgotha  and  Aceldama  but  too  plainly  the  types 
of  earth  and  humanity. 

Man  has  sinned,  and  therefore  he  suffers.  The  Bible 
also  testifies  of  the  curse  brought  upon  us  in  consequence 
of  sin.  The  instant  man  sinned,  Jesus  stood  between  the 
living  and  the  dead — modified  and  stayed  the  full  rush  of 
the  terrible  curse  which  sin  had  brought  on ;  but  the  time 
does  come,  and  the  place  will  be,  when  that  curse  created 
by  sin  shall  descend  in  all  its  pressure  on  some,  and  wither 
down  to  the  very  roots  all  happiness  and  peace,  close  every 
spring  of  joy,  and  open  up,  at  every  point  of  the  circum- 
ference of  their  existence,  streams  of  misery  immense, 
ceaseless. 


PREFACE.  9 

We  have  not  only  sinned  and  suffered,  but  we  cannot 
help  ourselves  out  of  it.  We  are  not  only  without  holi- 
ness, but  without  strength;  no  man  can  recover  himself. 
All  the  popes,  bishops,  prelates,  or  councils  in  Christen- 
dom can  no  more  change  the  heart  of  man,  than  they  can 
create  a  fixed  star,  or  soar  to  the  sun.  I  will  believe  they 
can  do  it,  when  they  will  stand  upon  the  grave  of  another 
Lazarus,  and  say,  Come  forth;  and  when  Lazarus,  the 
dead,  in  obedience  to  such  command,  shall  come  forth, 
and  take  his  place  among  the  living.  What  is  the  history 
of  the  world  without  God  but  a  history  of  successive  efforts 
and  successive  failures  to  regenerate  itself?  What  is  Pan- 
theism, but  man's  vain  effort  to  regenerate  man  ?  What 
are  Popery  and  Puseyism,  but  priestly  and  abortive  efforts 
to  regenerate  man  ?  What  is  Christianity,  but  God's  his- 
torical and  never-failing  success  in  the  regeneration  of 
man? 

It  is  wrong  for  infidels  to  quote  Aristides,  Socrates, 
Plato,  Alfred,  and  subsequent  names,  and  say  these  are 
types  of  humanity ;  they  are  not  so.  They  are  the  excep- 
tions to  the  general  condition  of  man;  they  are  as  tall 
trees  seen  from  the  distance,  which  appear  a  beautiful 
forest  in  the  horizon ;  but  when  we  approach  nearer,  we 
find  here  and  there,  beneath  and  around  them,  the  pesti- 
lential swamp,  the  deadly  upas-tree,  all  manner  of  vile 
and  worthless  things.  This  is  one  of  those  sights  in  which 
"distance"  may  be  said  to  "lend  enchantment  to  the 
view,"  covering,  with  an  apparently  beautiful  exterior,  as 


10  PREFACE. 

seen   from   afar,   the  terrible    corruption  which   lies  and 
festers  below. 

If  we  desire  to  see  vfhat  man  is,  let  us  shut  our  ears  to 
the  harp  of  the  poet,  and  visit  the  Mohammedan  wife,  the 
Indian  maid,  the  Hindoo  widow ;  let  us  leave  the  romantic 
picture  of  mankind,  and  explore  the  lanes  and  alleys  of 
London ;  let  us  inspect  our  prisons  and  penal  settlements. 
Bridewell  and  Botany  Bay.  After  w^e  have  gone  the 
round  of  these  places,  let  us  go  home  and  read  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  see  if  there  is 
one  exaggerating  touch !  That  chapter  is  a  terrible  but 
true  picture  of  the  lower  strata  of  humanity.  What  were 
the  deities  in  heathen  times?  Jupiter  was  a  monster, 
Mercury  a,  thief.  Mars  a  sort  of  cannibal,  who  drank  the 
blood  of  his  victims.  Such  were  the  gods  of  the  heathen ; 
and  like  gods,  like  people.  But  of  man's  corruption  we 
have  awful  instances  in  modern  times.  Men  baptized  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  professing  his  religion,  and  under  his 
pretended  sanction,  have  set  up  Inquisitions  for  the  mur- 
der of  saints,  for  the  plunder  of  widows,  and  then  they 
have  built  cathedrals  with  the  produce.  This  gospel, 
itself  pure,  precious,  and  indicative  of  its  divine  origin, 
has  been  perverted,  and  made  the  patron  of  the  build- 
ings, under  whose  splendid  towers  are  dungeons  deep  and 
dismal.  So  intense  is  man's  depravity,  that  not  only  will 
he  worship  Jupiter,  Mercury,  and  Mars,  but  he  will  take 
the  very  stones  God  had  selected  and  shaped  for  a  tem- 
ple to   himself,  and  with  these  construct  a  temple  vocal 


PREFACE.  11 

with  men's  praise,  and  in  which  wickedness  shall  be  con- 
secrated. 

The  gospel  tells  us  that  Jesus,  who  knew  no  sin,  was 
made  sin  for  us :  in  these  words  is  the  very  substance  of 
our  sermons ;  without  these  they  w^ould  be  but  as  sounding 
brass  and  tinkling  cymbals.  ''  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  Her/ave, 
not  permitted^  and  the  great  Redeemer  left  the  admiration 
of  angels  for  the  execration  of  the  mob ;  he  exchanged  a 
diadem  of  glory  for  a  wreath  of  thorns ;  he  left  the  robes 
of  majesty  and  beauty  for  that  vile  rag  that  Pilate  cast 
upon  his  shoulders.  Why  ?  It  was  for  us !  that  souls 
ruined  by  the  curse  might  be  redeemed  by  his  blood,  and 
restored  to  that  great  home  he  is  gone  to  prepare  for  us. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  mere  directory,  nor  the  pulpit  a  mere 
teacher's  desk.  Christianity  is  not  a  rule,  but  a  prescrip- 
tion; not  merely  a  direction  to  the  living  and  healthy,  but 
a  cure  for  the  diseased,  life  for  the  dead ;  and  Calvary  is 
not  a  composite  of  Sinai,  but  that  spot  on  which  God  in 
human  nature  died;  looking  to  whom,  and  leaning  upon 
whom,  I  am  the  possessor  of  justifying  righteousness.  He 
who  knew  no  sin,  was  made  sin  for  me,  that  I  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him. 

On  him  were  laid  the  iniquities  of  us  all ;  we  bear  his 
righteousness,  and  therefore  by  him  alone  do  we  recover 
every  lost  blessing.  He  did  nothing  worthy  of  death, 
although  he  died ;  and  we  shall  have  done  nothing  wor- 


12  PREFACE. 

thy  of  life  when  we  hear  the  glad  words,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord."  When  Jesus  died,  he  had  done  nothing  to  deserve 
it ;  when  we  are  admitted  to  glory,  it  will  be  wholly  with- 
out merit  on  our  part.  He  was  the  spotless  Lamb — we  are 
the  poor  stray  sheep,  clothed  in  his  spotless  righteousness. 

There  is  another  great  truth  to  which  the  Bible  bears 
testimony — the  regeneration  of  the  heart  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Regeneration  is  no  more  by  baptism  than  justifi- 
cation is  by  works :  justification  is  our  title,  sanctification 
is  our  qualification ;  justification  is  our  franchise,  sancti- 
fication is  our  fitness.  This  justification  is  by  Christ's 
work  alone.  This  regeneration  is  the  Holy  Spirit's  work 
alone.  The  precious  catechism  of  that  church  to  which  I 
belong,  and  in  which  I  have  been  schooled  from  my  in- 
fancy, says  justification  is  an  act  of  God's  grace,  and 
sanctification  is  a  work  of  God's  Spirit;  one  is  an  act 
done  once  for  all,  completely,  perfectly,  and  for  ever — the 
other  a  work  begun,  carried  on,  until  at  length  we  are 
made  fit  for  heaven,  and  are  removed  to  glory. 

The  Bible  insists  on  all  who  have  themselves  felt  the 
truth — not  ministers  alone,  but  all  who  have  received  the 
gospel — doing  their  utmost  to  make  it  known  to  those  who 
yet  remain  in  ignorance.  Psalm  Ixvii. :  ''God  be  merciful 
unto  us,  and  bless  us."  Why?  "That  thy  way  may 
be  known  upon  earth,  and  thy  saving  health  among  all 
nations."  A  man  who  can  pray  thus,  and  then  pass  the 
plate  at  a  missionary  collection,  contented,  it  may  be,  with 


PREFACE.  13 

giving  nothing,  or,  what  is  worse,  a  trifle,  does  not  know 
what  the  gospel  is,  or  what  Christianity  really  means. 
True,  God  can  promote  the  gospel  without  our  instru- 
mentality ;  but  it  concerns  us  to  ascertain  not  what  God 
can  do,  but  what  he  does — God's  omnipotence  is  not  our 
rule  of  faith.  We  know  of,  and  he  tells  us  of  no  other 
means.  The  sunbeams  do  not  write  salvation  on  the  sky ; 
angel  voices  do  not  chant  it ;  the  temple  of  nature  tells  us 
there  is  a  God,  but  it  tells  not  our  relation  to  him.  "How 
shall  they  believe  if  they  have  not  heard,  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher?"  Take  the  microscopic 
view  of  the  city  missionary,  and  inspect  the  lanes  and 
alleys  of  wretchedness,  sin,  and  demoralization  at  home  ; 
and  then  with  the  telescope  sweep  the  broad  horizon  of  the 
world  from  mountain  top  to  mountain  top.  Behold  so 
many  of  the  people  of  Europe  lying  in  darkness ;  look  on 
Asia,  once  the  cradle  of  Christianity,  now  the  battle-field 
of  the  Moslem  and  the  Jew;  see  Africa,  steeped  in  bar- 
barism, bleeding,  mangled,  and  imploring  your  interposi- 
tion. And  when  you  have  gazed  on  these  heart-rending 
spectacles — spectacles  that  look  to  us  so  shadowy,  because 
our  inner  vision  is  so  dark — hear  the  Son  of  God  :  first 
from  the  cross,  and  next  from  the  throne,  saying,  "  Go 
teach  all  nations." 

When  the  gospel  has  been  preached  as  a  witness  to  all, 
then  shall  Messiah  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power 
and  great  glory,  and  the  end  shall  come — the  end  of  our  dis- 
putes, quarrels,  pride,  sectarianism,  selfishness,  vain-glory ; 

2 


14  PREFACE. 


^  hAf^M^f^ 


the  end  of  despotism  on  the  part  of  the  rulers,  and  of  insub- 
ordination in  the  subjects;  the  end  of  the  toils  of  slavery, 
and  the  sufferings  of  martyrdom ;  the  end  of  Popery,  Pa- 
seyism.  Paganism,  and  Mohammedanism, — the  Missal,  the 
Breviary,  the  Shaster,  and  the  Koran.  That  great  rain- 
bow of  the  covenant,  that  starts  from  the  cross,  vaults 
into  the  sky,  and  sweeps  over  the  throne,  shall  complete 
its  orbit,  and  rest  again  upon  the  ground,  and  Christ  and 
Christianity  shall  be  all  and  in  all.  Then  shall  the  desert 
rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  Then  the  tree  of  life 
shall  be  where  the  cypress  is.  Then  shall  nations  sing 
God's  praise,  and  Sion  recount  God's  marvels.  Then 
shall  history  retrace  with  new  joy  God's  footprints.  Then 
shall  the  glory  of  Jesus  sparkle  in  the  dewdrop,  and  in  the 
boundless  sea;  in  the  minutest  atom,  and  in  the  greatest 
star;  and  this  earth,  restrung,  retuned,  shall  be  one  grand 
^olian  harp,  swept  by  the  breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
pouring  forth  those  melodies  which  began  on  Calvary,  and 
shall  sound  through  all  generations. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I. 

PAGE 

Daniel  the  Prophet Dan.  i 19 

LECTURE  IL 
Christian  Steadfastness Dan.i. 8,  9 29 

LECTURE  in. 
Living  to  God  in  Little  Things Dan.  i.1-13 38 

LECTURE  IV. 
True  Principle  is  true  Expediency Dan.i.17-21 48 

LECTURE  V. 
Babylon,  the  Golden  Head Dan.  ii.  37,  38 55 

LECTURE  VL 
The  Medo-Persian  and  Gr.eco-Macedonian 


Empires. 


.X^aji.  ii.39 72 


LECTURE  VIL 
The  Mystic  Stone  smiting  the  Image Dan.  ii.  34,35,41-45 86 

LECTURE  VIIL 

The  Kingdom  op  God Z)a«,  ii.  31-44 100 

15 


16  CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  IX. 

PAGE 

Early  Martyrs X>an.  iii.  16 117 


LECTURE  X 
Pride  Abased Z>au.  iv.  37 134 

LECTURE  XL 
The  Sceptre  of  God Z)an.iv.26 151 

LECTURE  XIL 
Belshazzar's  Feast Dan.  v 166 

LECTURE  XIIL 
Weighed  and  Found  Wanting Z)a«.  v.  24,  25 179 

LECTURE  XIV. 
The  Prime  Minister Dan. \i.l-10 193 

LECTURE  XV. 
Daniel  in  the  Den  of  Lions Dan.yi.16 206 

LECTURE  XVL 
The   Papacy i?a)(.  vii.  16-28 220 

LECTURE  XVII. 
The  Coming  Kingdom i)a».  vii.  9, 14,  22, 26, 27 238 

LECTURE  XVIIL 
The  Moslem Dan.  viii 252 

LECTURE  XIX. 
Fasting Dan.ix.  3 269 


CONTENTS.  17 

LECTURE  XX. 

PAGE 

Prayer Dan.ix.Z 283 

LECTURE  XXL 
Sis,  Confession,  and  Absolution Dan.ix.  4 298 

LECTURE  XXIL 
Daniel's  Litany Dan.  ix.  It) 312 

LECTURE  XXIIL 
Messiah's  Death Ban.ix.  26 327' 

LECTURE  XXIV. 
The  Great  Sacrifice Ban. ix.26 34:5 

LECTURE   XXV. 
The  Mission  of  the  Messiah JJan.ix.2i 362 

LECTURE   XXVL 
Sacred  Arithmetic Dan.  ix.2i 376 

LECTURE  XXVIL 
The  Messiah  the  Prince Dan. ix.2a 395 

LECTURE  XXVIIL 
Jerusalem  and  the  Jews Dan.ix.  26,27 408 


APPENDIX 423 

INDEX 459 

2* 


PROPHETIC  STUDIES; 


LECTURES   ON   DANIEL   THE   PROPHET. 


LECTURE   L 


DANIEL   THE   PROPHET. 


I  READ  the  first  chapter  of  Daniel  in  the  course  of  our  morning- 
reading  of  the  Scripture  this  day,  and  I  then  stated  that  I  would 
turn  your  attention  in  the  evening  to  some  of  those  studies  in 
this  interesting  and  instructive  book,  which  it  is  impossible  to  set 
forth  in  the  course  of  a  few  cursory  remarks  upon  the  lessons 
which  we  usually  read. 

I  may  premise  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Bishop  Newton,  the 
Duke  of  Manchester,  Faber,  Birks,  and  others — men  of  distin- 
guished erudition  and  thorough  piety — have  devoted  some  of  the 
best  of  their  time  to  the  elucidation  of  this  book,  and  all  without 
exception  have  testified  to  its  excellence,  its  instructiveness,  its 
value  as  a  clue  to  the  knowledge  of  the  things  that  are  passing  in 
the  history  of  this  dispensation,  and  of  the  principles  on  which 
God  governs  the  world.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  explored  the 
firmanent  with  unwearied  wing,  and  made  an  apocalypse  of  the 
stars,  felt  that  he  was  sounding  a  greater  depth,  and  rising  to  a 
loftier  height,  when  he  sat  down  a  patient  student  of  this  book  to 
ascertain  the  mind,  and  make  plain  to  less  gifted  souls  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Bishop  Newton,  a  divine  of  consum- 
mate piety,  laborious  research,  and  great  talent,  makes  the  following 

19 


20  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

remark  on  this  book  : — "  Wliat  an  amazing  propliecy  is  that  of 
Daniel !  comprehending  so  many  events,  and  extending  through 
so  many  successive  ages,  from  the  establishment  of  the  Persian 
empire,  upward  of  five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  to  the  second 
general  resurrection  at  the  last  day.  What  a  proof  of  Divine 
Providence  and  of  Divine  Ptevelation  ! — for  who  could  thus  declare 
the  things  that  shall  be,  with  their  times  and  their  seasons,  but 
He  only  who  hath  them  in  his  power — whose  dominion  is  an  ever- 
lasting dominion,  and  whose  kingdom  endureth  from  generation 
to  generation  1"  It  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel,  that  they  deal  much  with  figures.  There  is  in  them,  if  I 
may  use  the  expression,  less  of  poetry,  more  of  chronology. 
There  is  no  prophecy  so  definite ;  no  prophecy  that  so  much  lays 
itself  open  to  disproof,  if  it  be  false,  or  to  proof  if  it  be,  as  we 
believe  it  to  be,  true.  There  is  no  prophecy  which  the  Jew  has 
felt  greater  difficulty  in  dealing  with.  For  the  modern  Jcv/  sees 
so  plainly,  that  if  Daniel  be  inspired,  and  his  chronology  be  of 
God,  the  Messiah  must  have  come,  and  that  it  is  in  vain  to  look 
for  another,  that  the  more  earnest  Jew  meets  the  difficulty  boldly 
by  denying  that  the  book  is  divine  altogether,  on  grounds  and 
upon  premises  on  which  he  may  deny  that  there  is  any  divinity  in 
the  Old  Testament  at  all,  from  the  Book  of  Genesis  to  the  last 
verse  of  the  prophet  Malachi. 

There  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  Daniel  is  the  g-uthor  of  the 
book.  It  does  not  begin  with  an  express  assertion  of  the^  fact, 
but  throughout  the  work  the  most  casual  reader  can  hardly  fail  to 
perceive  many  marks  by  which  it  is  plain  that  Daniel  himself  was 
the  writer.  For  instance,  in  chap.  vii.  28,  he  says,  "I,  Daniel;" 
viii.  2,  '^A  vision  appeared  to  me,  Daniel.'''  Ail  which,  and  I 
might  quote  other  similar  expressions,  clearly  prove  that  Daniel 
is  the  writer  of  the  book. 

But  the  next  question  that  arises  is  this :  Is  there  evidence 
that  Daniel  not  only  existed,  but  was  the  singularly  favoured,  ex- 
cellent, and  beautiful  character  that  he  is  here  represented — not 
proclaimed  to  be  by  words,  but  shown  to  be  by  implication  ?  We 
think  there  is :  for  instance,  in  Ezek.  xiv.  14,  "  Though  these 
three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  were  in  it,  they  should  deliver 
but  their  own  souls  by  their  righteousness,  saith  the  Lord  God." 


DANIEL   THE   PROPHET.  21 

We  have  another  allusion,  almost  the  same,  contained  in  Ezek, 
xxviii.  3  :  "  Thou  art  wiser  than  Daniel ;  there  is  no  secret  that 
they  can  hide  from  thee."  And  I  may  state  that  Ezekiel  was 
contemporary  with  Daniel.  Ezekiel  was  the  old  and  experienced 
saint,  when  Daniel  was  the  young  and  growing,  but  highly  fa- 
voured Christian ;  and  the  beautiful  allusion  made  by  the  elder  to 
the  wisdom  and  the  excellence  of  the  younger,  were  it  not  inspired, 
would  lead  us  at  least  to  say.  How  free  from  envy  and  jealousy 
was  the  aged  Ezekiel  as  he  waned  from  the  stage,  in  reference  to 
Daniel,  who  was  about  to  fill  his  jDlace,  and  was  throwing  him 
into  the  shade  by  his  greater  lustre  and  glory ! 

This  book  was  received  as  authentic  by  the  Jews  prior  to  the 
time  of  our  Saviour,  and  was  never  disputed  by  them.  It  is  plain 
evidence  that  it  existed  in  the  Hebrew  Bible — that  it  was  trans- 
lated by  the  Alexandrian  Jews,  three  hundred  years  before  the 
birth  of  Christ,  into  Greek,  and  accordingly  it  exists  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint  translation  at  this  day. 

I  may  also  observe  that  the  Book  of  Daniel,  as  also  the  Book 
of  Ezra,  is  written  partly  in  the  Chaldee,  a  language  differing 
from  the  Hebrew  in  its  form  and  structure,  but  not  much  more 
than  Italian  or  Spanish  differs  from  Latin.  Any  one  who  under- 
stands Latin  may  easily  master  either  of  the  two  former  languages ; 
and  any  one  who  understands  Hebrew  has  the  key  that  unlocks 
all  the  cognate  Oriental  languages.  This  language  begins  at 
chap.  ii.  4,  where  the  Chaldeans,  who  spoke  Aramcian,  or  Chal- 
dee, say  to  the  king  in  ''•  Syriac,^'  which  is  the  same  dialect,  and 
which  was  spoken  by  our  Lord  and  by  the  Jews  of  his  day,  '■'■  0 
king,  live  for  ever !"  Josephus,  the  distinguished  Jewish  histo- 
rian, bears  testimony  to  the  authenticity  of  this  book  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms :  "All  these  things  did  this  man  leave  behind  him, 
writing  as  God  had  showed  them  to  him;  so  that  those  who  read 
his  prophecies,  and  see  how  they  have  been  fulfilled,  must  be 
astonished  at  the  honour  conferred  by  God  on  Daniel."  Antiq.  x. 
11.  This  is  the  testimony  of  a  Jew  who  was  bitterly  hostile  to 
Christianity;  and  Josephus,  in  his  Antiquities,  shows  how  each 
prediction  of  Daniel  had  been  fulfilled  with  reference  to  all  the 
four  great  monarchies  except  the  last,  which  was  existing  in  his 
own  time.     But  why  this  exception  ?     Because  Josephus  was  a 


22  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

servant  of  the  Eoman  emperor,  and  lie  liad  not  the  courage  to 
proclaim  that  Daniel's  prophecies  regarding  Rome  had  been  as 
truly  fulfilled  as  his  prophecies  relating  to  Babylon,  or  to  the 
Persian  or  Median  empire. 

In  the  next  place,  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  expressly  refer  to 
Daniel.  You  are  all  acquainted  with  one  allusion  to  him  in  Matt, 
xxiv.  15  :  "  When  ye  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the  holy  place,  (whoso 
readeth  let  him  understand.^')  But  it  is  perhaps  no  less  interest- 
ing to  observe  the  allusions  scattered  through  the  New  Testament, 
which  clearly  point  to  expressions  and  prophecies  contained  in 
Daniel,  though  the  prophet  himself  is  not  expressly  named.  Thus, 
for  instance,  in  1  Pet.  i.  10,  we  read,  "  Of  which  salvation  the 
prophets  have  inquired  and  searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of 
the  grace  that  should  come  unto  you.''  Now,  on  looking  to  Dan. 
ix.  3,  and  xii.  8,  we  find  the  passages  to  which  St.  Peter  refers,  in 
the  former  of  which  we  read,  '^  And  I  prayed  unto  the  Lord  my 
God,  and  made  my  confession,  and  said,  0  Lord,  the  great  and 
dreadful  God,  keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy  to  them  that  love 
him,"  &c. ;  and  in  the  latter  we  read,  "^  I  heard,  but  I  understood 
not;  then  said  I,  0  my  Lord,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  these 
things  V  &c.  Hecollect  these  passages ;  and  while  you  recollect 
them,  let  the  light  struck  from  the  language  of  Peter  fall  upon 
them,  '^  Of  which  salvation  the  prophets  have  inquired  and 
searched  diligently,  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it  testified  beforehand 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow."  An- 
other very  plain  allusion  to  Daniel  is  contained  in  2  Thess.  ii.  3, 
where  we  have  the  delineation  of  the  features  of  the  Man  of  sin, 
which  may  well  be  compared  with  what  Daniel  tells  us  of  the 
"  little  horn"  that  is  to  arise  ^'  doing  great  things ;"  and  you  will 
see  that  Paul  in  this  is  but  the  echo  of  Daniel ;  that  Paul  in  short 
fills  up  the  outline  which  Daniel  had  previously  sketched.  An- 
other passage  to  which  I  may  refer,  is  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  where  the 
apostle  Paul  says,  "  Know  ye  not  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world  ?"  Why  did  the  apostle  thus  appeal  to  them  ?  because  the 
prophet  Daniel  expressly  declares  that  they  will  do  so,  when  he 
tells  us  in  chap.  vii.  22,  ''  Until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and 


DANIEL   THE   PROPHET.  23 

judgment  was  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High."  "What  a 
wonderful  harmony  is  there  running  through  the  whole  word  of 
God  !  You  cannot  touch,  as  it  were,  a  note  in  Daniel,  but  all 
the  apostles  of  the  New  Testament  respond  to  it.  You  may  have 
noticed  sometimes  in  a  building,  in  a  church,  or  a  hall,  that  if  a 
certain  note  or  tone  be  given  by  the  speaker,  the  whole  building 
will  instantly  vibrate  in  harmony  or  in  unison.  In  the  same  way, 
you  cannot  touch  a  truth  in  Daniel,  but  tones  of  harmony  will 
burst  from  the  lips  of  Paul  and  from  the  writings  of  Peter ;  the 
whole  Bible,  in  grand  harmony,  revealing  the  mind,  the  will,  and 
the  glory  of  God. 

We  find  another  allusion — the  last  I  shall  here  refer  to — in 
Heb.  xi.  33,  ''By  faith  ....  they  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions." 
This  evidently  refers  to  the  wonderful  deliverance  of  Daniel, 
,  recorded  in  this  book,  when  cast  into  the  den  of  lions  by  order 
of  King  Darius;  upon  which  we  shall  comment  on  a  future 
Sabbath  evening.  "  Quenched  the  violence  of  fire."  To  what 
can  this  relate  but  to  the  escape  of  the  three  youths,  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego,  who  were  thrown  into  the  fiery  furnace 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  had  not  even  their  garments  singed  by 
the  flames  ? 

These  allusions,  scattered  through  the  whole  New  Testament, 
show  us  that  our  Lord  himself,  Peter,  Paul,  and,  I  might  say,  all 
the  apostles,  assumed  the  Book  of  Daniel  to  be  an  inspired  reve- 
lation of  the  mind  and  will  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

I  have  thus,  then,  I  think,  shown  you  enough  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Bible  to  prove  that  this  book  is  of  the  Bible. 
Some  Christians  among  you,  who  long  perhaps  for  better  things, 
and  sweeter  things,  and  higher  things,  will  be  ready  to  say, 
"  Why  prove  to  us  this  of  which  we  are  already  convinced  ?" 
So  you  are ;  but  there  are  many  young  men  in  every  congregation 
who  are  placed  among  nests  of  infidels,  and  who  will  be  taunted, 
and  jeered,  and  scofi'ed  at,  for  assuming  or  asserting  the  truth, 
that  the  visions  and  the  predictions  of  Daniel  are  inspired :  I  ask, 
then.  Is  it  not  useful, — is  it  not  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  age, — is  it  not  scriptural,  to  endeavour  to  enable  every  man 
to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  him  ?  I  know  you  may 
be  convinced  in  your  hearts — and  nothing  is  so  convincing  that 


24  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

the  Bible  is  true  as  the  constant  waiting  upon  a  minister  who 
makes  known  the  precious  gospel :  but  you  need,  not  only  what 
will  convince  your  own  hearts  that  the  Bible  is  from  God,  but 
you  need  that  which  will  enable  you  to  convince  others  also.  It 
is  most  important  to  have  money  in  your  bank;  but  you  will  lose 
many  an  advantage  by  the  want  of  a  little  change  in  your 
pocket.  It  is  most  important  to  have  deep  convictions  in  your 
soul ;  but  it  is  not  less  valuable,  in  this  strange  world,  and  amid 
its  strange  mixture  of  society,  to  have  a  little  ready  argument 
which  you  can  employ,  and  therewith  answer  a  fool  according  to 
his  folly. 

Let  me  notice  also  another  line  of  thought,  which  tends  to 
convince  us  that  Daniel  wrote  at  the  time  that  is  here  assumed, 
and  was  a  living  participator  in  the  events  which  he  records.  For 
instance,  it  is  stated  in  this  very  chapter,  that  the  youths  were 
fed  from  the  royal  table.  This  is  received  by  the  ordinary  reader 
as  a  naked  fact,  but  it  is  singularly  corroborative  of  what  we  have 
been  saying ;  for  it  was  a  custom  peculiar  to  the  Chaldeans  and 
the  Persians,  and  common  to  no  people  besides ;  and  the  quiet 
way  in  which  it  is  here  alluded  to  as  a  common  and  a  well-known 
fact,  is  presumptive  evidence  that  the  record  was  made  by  an 
individual  who  himself  lived  at  the  period  and  among  the  nation 
with  whom  such  a  custom  prevailed. 

The  change  of  the  names  of  his  companions  from  Hebrew  into 
Chaldee,  is  not  merely  a  fact  that  accidentally  occurred  in  this 
particular  case,  but  was  in  accordance  with  a  custom  universally 
prevalent  among  the  Chaldees.  We  have  an  allusion  to  some- 
thing of  the  same  kind  in  2  Kings  xxiv.  17,  where  it  is  said  that 
the  king  of  Babylon  changed  the  name  of  Eliakim  into  Jehoia- 
kim.  This,  again,  shows  that  what  is  recorded  in  this  book  is  in 
harmony  with  the  age  and  the  country  in  which  it  purports  to 
have  been  penned. 

The  method  of  reckoning  years  is  evidently  Babylonish.  Thus, 
in  chap.  ii.  he  says,  ^^  In  the  second  year  of  King  Nebuchad- 
nezzar;" whence  it  is  plain  that  the  writer  of  it  wrote  then,  and 
in  that  kingdom.  You  will  find  at  once,  from  the  way  in  which 
any  person  writes  or  speaks  of  longitude,  in  what  country  he  has 
lived;    because    each  country  reckons  longitude  from   its    own 


DANIEL   THE   PROPHET.  25 

meridian.  Our  meridian  is  a  line  supposed  to  pass  through 
Greenwich,  and  therefore  an  English  writer  would  reckon  longi- 
tude from  this  point ;  while  a  Frenchman  vrould  speak  of  longi- 
tude as  calculated  from  the  meridian  of  Paris ;  and  a  foreigner 
of  some  other  country  would  reckon  it  from  another  and  a  dif- 
ferent first  meridian.  Thus,  as  the  mode  of  reckoning  longitude 
would  show  the  country  to  which  the  writer  belonged,  so  the 
allusion  here  contained  to  the  mode  of  reckoning  time,  shows 
that  the  narrative  comes  from  the  pen  of  one  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people  concerning 
whom  he  wrote. 

Another  proof  of  this  fact  may  be  found  in  chap,  ii.  5,  where 
the  king  commands  the  houses  of  the  wise  men  to  be  "  made  a 
dunghill."  It  would  be  difficult  to  understand  this  of  houses 
built  of  stone  or  of  our  brick ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the 
houses  of  the  Chaldeans  were  made  of  bricks  of  clay  hardened 
in  the  sun,  which  might  easily  be  dissolved  by  violent  rains,  and 
which  would  speedily,  by  the  continued  action  of  the  rain  and 
moisture,  be  reduced  to  a  pulp,  or  soft  mass. 

We  have  further  evidence  of  Daniel's  veracity  and  authenticity, 
in  the  modes  in  which  capital  punishment  is  recorded  to  have 
been  inflicted.  Casting  into  a  heated  furnace  was  a  cruelty 
practised  only  by  the  Chaldeans ;  while  casting  into  a  den  of  v/ild 
beasts  was  a  pLinishment  peculiar  to  the  Modes  and  Persians. 
You  will  therefore  observe,  that  when  Daniel  is  speaking  of  the 
infliction  of  capital  punishment  under  the  Chaldean  dynasty,  he 
mentions  the  former  method,  namely,  casting  into  a  furnace ;  and 
when  speaking  of  its  infliction  under  the  Medo-Persian  dynasty, 
he,  without  saying  a  word  about  the  change,  relates  that  it  was 
to  have  been  performed  after  their  national  manner,  by  casting 
into  a  den  of  lions  :  thus  showing  how  perfectly  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  manners  and  the  customs  of  the  age. 

Again,  we  read,  that  at  the  great  festival  of  Belshazzar,  females 
were  present  at  the  feast.  We  have  the  authority  of  Xenophon, 
the  historian  of  Cyrus,  for  saying  that  it  was  a  custom  peculiar 
to  Babylon,  and  unknown  among  any  subsequent  nations  :  here 
also  we  see  how  accurately  and  minutely  all  the  prophet  states 

3 


26  PllOrilETIC    t^TUDlES. 

accords  witli  the  actual  peculiarities  of  the  age  and  country  in 
which  he  professes  to  write. 

The  historian  Xenophon,  to  whom  I  have  already  referred, 
further  corroborates  the  prophet  in  his  statement  concerning 
Belshazzar,  for  he  tells  us  that  ^Hhe  last  king  of  Babylon  was 
cruel,  cowardly,  and  voluptuous,  who  despised  the  Deity,  and 
spent  his  time  in  riot  and  debauchery  /'  which  is  precisely  the 
character  given  by  Daniel  to  Belshazzar. 

It  is  Xenophon's  description  of  Cyaxares,  who  may  plainly  be 
proved  to  have  been  the  same  with  Darius,  that  he  was  weak, 
cruel,  and  pliable,  yet  furious  in  his  anger  and  tyrannical  in  his 
exercise  of  power.  Compare  with  this  the  character  of  Darius  as 
delineated  by  the  author  of  this  book — a  king  who  allowed  his 
nobles  to  make  laws  for  him  which  were  unalterable,  and  after- 
ward repented  and  endeavoured  to  retract  them  ;  who  casts  Daniel 
into  the  den  of  lions  for  non-compliance  with  his  orders,  and  then 
spends  the  whole  night  in  lamentation  and  remorse  at  the  conse- 
quence of  his  cruel  severity — and  you  have  here  another  sketch 
from  the  very  same  original.  It  is  thus  that  you  catch,  sounding 
along  the  lapse  of  centuries,  echoes  of  the  grand  original.  It  is 
thus  that  the  more  you  become  acquainted  with  all  that  man's 
learning  can  teach  us,  the  more  you  will  be  convinced  that  what 
prophets  and  apostles  wrote  they  wrote  truly,  and  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Grod. 

I  have  thus  alluded  to  these  little  points,  but  points  not 
insignificant,  especially  in  these  days  when  men  are  so  anxious  to 
find  matter  of  reproach  and  accusation  against  the  Word  of  God. 
But,  in  speaking  to  a  Christian  audience  of  the  presumptive  evi- 
dence that  Daniel  wrote  this  book,  let  me  beg  you  to  notice  some 
of  its  grand  distinctive  features.  Throughout  the  whole  of  this 
book  the  great  object  of  it  seems  to  be  to  depress  all  that  is 
human,  to  let  loose  and  unfold  the  glory  of  all  that  is  divine.  I 
always  regard  it  as  the  evidence  of  a  good  sermon,  that  it  tends 
to  place  the  creature  in  the  dust,  and  to  exalt  God  upon  his 
throne ;  and  I  lay  it  down  as  evidence  that  a  book  is  in  keeping 
with  the  grand  and  j)ervading  tone  of  the  whole  gospel,  that  it 
humbles  man,  and  exalts  the  Creator  and  the  Redeemer  of  man. 
liead  the  whole  of  Daniel  with  this  idea  before  you,  and  you  will 


DANIEL    THE   PROPHET.  27 

see  at  once  that  it  represents  kingdoms  and  their  monarchs,  their 
statesmen,  their  councils,  their  armies,  their  great  men,  their 
magnificence  and  their  glory,  as  the  dust  only  in  the  balance  3  it 
represents  God  as  alone  great — as  casting  down  one  and  setting 
up  another — as  the  monarch  of  an  everlasting  kingdom — as 
^'the  Ancient  of  Days" — as  'Uhe  Living  God" — the  Giver  of 
wisdom — the  Ruler  of  the  present,  the  Eevealer  of  the  future. 
Throughout  the  hook  you  have  these  two  grand  ideas  developed  : 
— man,  how  poor !  how  frail !  how  short-lived  !  how  guilty  ! 
God,  how  wise  I  how  omnipotent  I  how  sovereign !  how  good  ! 
how  glorious  ! 

Again,  not  the  least  triumphant  evidence  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  Book  of  Daniel,  is  its  plain  and  obvious  fulfilment.  Part  of 
it  is  fulfilled  prophecy;  part  of  it,  by  its  own  statements,  and 
from  its  own  internal  allusions,  is  plainly  unfulfilled  prophecy. 
The  portion  of  it  which  Daniel  stated  would  be  fulfilled  within  a 
given  period,  has  been  completely  fulfilled,  to  the  very  letter;  and 
that  which  remains  to  be  fulfilled,  we  have  the  clearest  evidence, 
from  the  past  and  the  present,  will  be  fulfilled  with  equal  certainty 
and  equal  precision.  The  vision  which  Daniel  saw  by  the  banks 
of  the  Ulai  and  the  Hiddekel,  the  two  great  rivers  of  the  land  of 
Shinar,  has  been  partly  fulfilled )  partly  enlarged  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, is  now  in  course  of  fulfilment,  and  by-and-by  will  be 
completely  and  perfectly  accomplished. 

Porphyry,  the  earliest  and  the  highly  celebrated  skeptic,  from 
whom  "and  Julian  the  succession  of  skeptics  traces  itself,- saw  so 
plainly  the  fuliilment  of  part  of  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  that 
he  declared  the  book  to  have  been  composed  by  one  who  lived  in 
the  days  of  Autiochus  Epiphanes.  He  saw  so  plainly  that  what 
Daniel  predicted  had  been  fulfilled  to  the  very  letter,  that  he 
denied  it  was  written  nearly  600  years  before  Christ,  and  main- 
tained that  it  was  written  within  200  years  of  that  event.  But 
the  answer  to  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  the  Greek 
translation  from  the  Hebrew,  called  the  Septuagint,  was  made  and 
scattered  throughout  the  world  100  years  before  Autiochus 
Epiphanes  was  born,  and  therefore  that  the  objection  of  Porphyry 
is  alike  untenable,  unhistorical,  and  absurd. 

It  has  also  been  objected  to  this  book,  that  there  are  in  it  so 


28  PROrilETIC   STUDIES. 

many  miracles  and  special  manifestations  of  God  that  they  seem 
unnecessary,  and,  as  it  were,  supererogatory,  and  that  it  is  not 
consistent  with  what  we  otherwise  know  of  God,  that  he  should 
thus  so  frecjuently  and  upon  so  many  occasions  miraculously 
manifest  himself.  But  we  must  consider  that  at  this  period  the 
Jews  were  in  captivity — their  temple  was  destroyed — their  sacred 
rites,  their  sacrifices,  and  their  ceremonies  had  ceased — their  priests 
and  their  Levites  were  gone.  Now,  would  it  not  seem  perfectly 
natural,  when  all  the  outward  signs  of  their  religion  were  thus 
removed,  that  God  should  manifest  more  of  himself  to  them,  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  light  of  religion  in  the  absence  of  its  out- 
ward and  visible  ordinances  ?  Does  it  not  seem  but  natural  that 
when  the  outer  glory  was  shaded,  the  inner  glory  should  be  made 
to  shine  the  more  brilliantly  ?  Does  it  not  seem  but  reasonable 
that  when,  in  the  land  of  their  captivity,  they  lacked  those  sacred 
symbols  by  which  they  were  wont  to  approach  God,  He  who  is 
not  confined  to  temples  made  with  hands  should  visit  them  in  the 
time  of  their  distress,  and  cheer  them  by  special  and  glorious 
manifestations  of  himself?  This  has  been  the  way  of  God  in 
every  age;  and  therefore  the  absence,  not  the  presence,  of  such 
divine  manifestations,  would  be  a  presumption  against  the  claims 
of  this  book.  There  is  no  doubt  of  its  inspiration.  Let  us 
therefore  study  it ;  and  in  these  studies  we  shall  gather,  not  only 
glimpses  of  the  blessed  future,  but  directions  for  our  guidance 
along  the  troubled  present. 


29 


LECTURE  11. 


CHRISTIAN    STEADFASTNESS. 

''But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not  defilo  himself  ^yith  the 
portion  of  the  king's  meat,  nor  with  the  wine  which  he  drank :  therefore  he 
requested  of  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  that  he  might  not  defile  himself.  Now 
God  had  brought  Daniel  into  favour  and  tender  love  with  the  prince  of  the 
eunuchs." — Daniel  i.  8,  9. 

Having  said  so  mucli  by  way  of  preface  to  my  exposition  of 
this  book,  let  me  endeavour  briefly  to  look  at  the  particular  verse 
I  have  selected  for  remark,  which  is  really  a  very  important  one. 
"  Then  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not  defile 
himself  with  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat.''  Daniel,  as  far  as 
we  can  gather,  was  very  young  when  he  was  carried  away  a 
captive  into  Babylon.  He  is  called  "  a  child/'  and  we  speak  of 
the  three  children;  but,  as  I  told  you  on  a  former  occasion,  the 
word  rendered  '^  child,"  means  ^^  a  stripling,"  '^  a  young  man ;" 
the  presumption  therefore  is  that  Daniel  at  this  time  was  about 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age ;  and  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
when  after  living  on  pulse  and  water  he  appeared  much  faii-er  and 
fatter  in  flesh  than  those  of  his  countrymen  who  consented  to 
become  partakers  of  the  royal  bounty,  he  was  probably  about 
twenty  years  of  age.  But  it  may  be  asked,  what  was  it  that 
made  Daniel  so  firmly  refuse  to  eat  of  the  king's  meat  or  drink 
of  the  king's  wine,  when  there  was  so  great  a  temptation  to  do 
so  ?  It  could  not  be  that  he  thought  it  sinful  to  drink  wine,  or 
improper  to  dine  with  the  king  of  the  country.  I  have  no  doubt 
he  knew  just  as  well  as  others  that  wine  was  more  agreeable  to 
his  taste  than  water,  and  that  to  dine  at  the  royal  table  would  bo 
a  great  honour ;  but  the  reason  of  his  refusal  was  evidently  this : 
the  king  of  Babylon,  like  all  heathens,  was  in  the  habit  of  what 
we  would  call  "  asking  a  blessing"  before  his  meals,  or,  as  it  is 


30  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

more  popularly  termed,  "  saying  grace ;"  in  doing  wliicli  lie  took 
a  portion  of  his  food  and  dedicated  it  to  the  god  whom  he 
Y/orshipped,  and  also  a  portion  of  the  wine  he  was  about  to  drink, 
and  poured  out  a  libation  to  his  idol  before  tasting  it  himself; 
and  thus,  as  it  were,  consecrated,  according  to  his  idea,  the  whole 
to  the  heathen  god.  Daniel  now  felt  that  he  could  not  conscien- 
tiously partake  of  it,  because  it  would  have  been,  as  I  shall 
hereafter  show,  implicating  himself  with  heathenism,  and  acting 
unfaithfully  to  his  country,  his  religion,  and  his  God ;  and  he  was 
prepared  to  run  all  hazards  rather  than  even  appear  to  do  so. 
What  was  it,  then,  that  made  Daniel  thus  resolute  and  firm  ?  It 
was  this  :  Daniel  had  received  an  early  religious  education ;  he 
was  not  brought  up  at  a  school  where  he  learned  the  world  and 
nothing  more,  or  mere  secular  education  to  the  exclusion  of  re- 
ligion, just  as  if  that  were  possible.  He  was  not  educated  at  a 
school  where  he  was  taught  what  the  French  schoolmasters  are 
now  teaching — pantheism  and  socialism  ;  but  he  was  brought  up 
at  the  home  of  his  father,  where  he  acquired  the  knowledge  of 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  that  savingly  and  with  profit.  Early 
education  was  to  Daniel,  under  God,  the  means  of  his  preservation. 
The  deep  engraving  of  truth  upon  the  heart  of  the  young  is  never 
altogether  effaced.  Those  impressions  of  divine  truth  that  are 
made  on  our  hearts  in  youth  often  emerge  in  after  years  with  all 
the  freshness  and  the  beauty  of  j^esterday.  Silenced  they  may  be ; 
extinguished  they  rarely  are :  overshadowed  they  may  be ;  but 
obliterated  they  cannot  be.  I  know,  when  I  learned  that 
scriptural  but  extremely  abstruse  work — perhaps  more  so  than 
need  be — "The  Shorter  Catechism,''  I  did  not  understand  it;  in 
those  days  education  was  not  so  well  comprehended,  and  it  v/as 
not  thought  so  necessary  to  explain  to  the  understanding  what 
was  to  be  stored  in  the  memory,  as  it  is  now ;  but  my  memory 
was  stored  with  the  truths  of  that  precious  document ;  and  when 
I  grew  up  I  found  those  truths  which  had  been  laid  aside  in  its 
cells  as  propositions  which  I  could  neither  understand  nor  make 
use  of,  become  illuminated  by  the  sunshine  of  after  years,  and, 
like  some  hidden  and  mysterious  writing,  reveal  in  all  their  beauty 
and  their  fulness  those  precious  truths  which  I  had  neither  seen 
nor  comprehended  before,  and  which  have  been  so  long  and  are 


CHRISTIAN   STEADFASTNESS.  31 

now  preached  in  the  cliurch  of  my  fathers,  and  no  less  so,  I  trust, 
in  every  section  of  the  evangelical  church  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  words  spoken  by  parents  to  their  children  in  the 
privacy  of  home,  or  by  teachers  to  their  pupils  in  the  more  busy 
scene  of  the  schoolroom,  are  like  words  spoken  in  a  whispering- 
gallery,  and  will  be  clearly  heard  at  the  distance  of  years,  and 
along  the  corridors  of  ages  that  are  yet  to  come.  Teach  your 
children  early  truths,  even  if  they  cannot  comprehend  them,  and 
those  truths,  impressed  upon  their  minds  when  young,  will  prove 
like  the  lode-star  to  the  mariner  upon  a  dark  and  stormy  sea, 
associated  with  a  mother's  love,  with  a  father's  example,  with  the 
roof-tree  beneath  which  they  lived  and  loved,  and  will  prove 
mighty  in  after  life  to  mould  the  man  and  enable  him  to  adorn 
and  improve  the  age  in  which  he  is  placed.  The  heart  of  a  child 
is  ductile ;  it  is  a  soft  soil,  into  which  we  may  cast  seed  which 
shall  either  produce  poisonous  weeds,  or  spring  up  and  expand 
into  fruit-bearing  trees,  lleverence  the  child — that  little  white 
pinafore  in  the  infant-school  ought  to  be  looked  upon  at  least  as 
reverently  as  the  black  apron  of  the  most  learned  bishop  or  arch- 
bishop that  ever  lived.  It  has  an  importance  that  you  cannot 
over-estimate ;  that  child  may  play  a  part  that  shall  be  terrible  as 
that  of  a  Napoleon — the  scourge  of  nations  3  or  beautiful  as  that 
of  Daniel — the  faithful  amid  the  faithless  many,  "  Train  up  a 
child  in  the  way  he  sliould  go," — mark  the  words,  not  ''  in  the 
way  he  would  go,"  that  is -the  French  system  of  education;  but 
"  in  the  way  he  should  go — and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart 
from  it. 

Let  me  notice  another  feature  in  the  prophet.  Daniel  was  of 
noble,  if  not  of  royal  birth.  He  was  of  the  royal  tribe  of  Judah ; 
and  this  shows  us  that  while  '^not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble 
are  called,"  there  are  some  even  of  the  highest  rank  who  have 
adorned  by  their  practice  the  faith  which  they  professed.  Isaiah 
and  Daniel  were  of  the  royal  tribe ;  David  was  a  shepherd-boy ; 
Amos  was  a  herdsman ;  Zechariah,  a  captive  from  Babylon ; 
Elisha,  a  ploughman  ;  so  that  we  have  among  the  Old  Testament 
prophets,  the  prince  and  the  peasant,  the  noble  and  the  commoner, 
all  equally  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  proclaiming  with 
equal  distinctness  the  truths  of  the  everlasting  gospel.     I  know 


32  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

that  the  minister  of  the  gospel  should  look  upon  the  conversion 
of  a  single  soul  as  transcending  and  eclipsing  every  thing ;  but 
under  the  present  constitution  of  society — whether  that  constitu- 
tion be  good  or  bad,  it  is  not  for  me  here  to  discuss — rank  and 
wealth  and  power  have  a  mighty  influence,  and  we  ought  specially 
to  thank  God  when  families  occupying  the  highest  place  in  the 
land  are  found,  as  they  are  found,  more  and  more  every  day, 
allying  themselves  to  that  which  gives  splendour  to  the  most 
ancient  coronet,  and  grandeur  to  the  mightiest  and  most  illustrious 
crown.  Daniel  then  was  of  the  royal  tribe,  and  probably  of  the 
royal  family,  a  man  of  rank  and  dignity,  and  he  enlisted  all  his 
power  and  all  his  influence  in  the  service  of  his  country,  his 
religion,  and  his  God. 

In  the  third  place,  Daniel  and  his  throe  friends  were  evidently 
scholars;  they  were  men  of  learning  and  talent.  Daniel  was 
skilled  in  all  the  secular  as  well  as  the  religious  knowledge  of  his 
country ;  and  when  we  contend  for  sacred  education,  you  must 
not  suppose  that  we  mean  to  imply  that  secular  and  scientific 
knowledge  is  useless  to  you,  or  in  any  way  to  disparage  the  pur- 
suit of  it.  Only  read  the  subsequent  part  of  this  chapter,  and 
you  will  find  that  Daniel  was  skilled  in  all  the  learning  of  the 
times,  and  it  proved  of  eminent  advantage  to  him  and  his  coun- 
trymen. For  aught  we  know,  those  Babylonians,  gazing  upon 
the  starry  firmament  in  that  splendid  atmosphere,  and  in  that 
glorious  climate  upon  the  plains  of  Shinar,  may  have  had  a  know- 
ledge of  astronomy  which  might  make  even  Newton  look  less 
if  we  only  knew  all  that  the  Chaldeans  knew.  Daniel,  however, 
was  a  Hebrew,  and  was  taught  in  the  Hebrew  school — science 
associated  with  religion.  And  such  knowledge  proved  of  use 
to  him,  for  it  was  a  great  means  of  his  exaltation  to  power.  At 
the  present  day  the  possession  of  sound  secular  knowledge,  in 
India,  for  instance,  is  of  very  great  importance.  I  need  not  tell 
you  that  among  the  Hindoos  in  India  we  have  100,000,000  of 
fellow-subjects ;  with  them  science  is  always  most  intimately  con- 
nected with  religion,  so  much  so  that  it  is  one  of  the  principles 
of  their  creed  that  all  knowledge  is  equally  inspired.  They  be- 
lieve their  chemistry,  their  astronomy,  their  geology,  to  be  as 
much  inspired  as  any  principle  in  their  religion.     If,  then,  you 


CrilUSTlAN   STEADFASTNESS.  S3 

can  prove  to  a  Hindoo  that  any  part  of  liis  science  is  wrong,  you 
have  not  only  made  him  a  better  philosopher,  hut  you  have  taken 
out  a  stone  from  the  very  arch  of  which  his  whole  system  of  be- 
lief is  composed.  When  the  Church  of  Scotland  sent  out  her 
missionaries,  she  made  the  experiment ;  but  when  they  tried  to 
teach  the  Hindoos  science  as  well  as  religion,  some  people  said, 
"  What,  are  missionaries  going  out  from  a  Christian  church  to 
teach  astronomy  T'  and  certainly  the  objection  seemed  plausible 
enough  :  but  the  result  has  proved  how  complete  was  the  popular 
misapprehension.  To  give  an  instance  of  the  advantages  arising 
from  the  course  we  adopted,  I  may  state,  that  the  Hindoos  believe 
that  the  earth  is  not  a  round  globe,  but  an  extended  plain ;  and 
that  when  an  eclipse  takes  place,  it  is  some  great  animal  whose 
shadow  produces  this  effect  upon  the  moon,  and  that  it  betokens 
some  disaster :  but  when  one  of  our  missionaries  proved  to  a 
Brahmin  what  is  the  true  figure  of  our  globe,  and  demons^trated 
to  him  that  an  eclipse  would  take  place  on  a  certain  day,  and  at 
a  certain  hour,  and  would  be  visible  at  a  certain  place,  he  had 
proved  to  the  Brahmin  that  what  he  believed  to  be  an  inspired 
dogma  was  a  gross  scientific  blunder;  and  by  so  doing  he  not 
only  made  the  Brahmin  a  better  philosopher,  which  was  not  worth 
doing,  but  he  succeeded  in  shaking  his  faith  in  his  whole  system 
of  religious  belief,  and  thus  led  him  to  infer  that  if  one  article  in 
his  creed  were  false,  might  not  all  its  articles  be  false  together  ? 
This  shows  us  the  great  importance  of  teaching  scientific  know- 
ledge. Now,  Daniel  was  acquainted  with  all  branches  of  know- 
ledge, and  it  was  of  great  use  to  him,  as  it  ever  will  be  in  the 
hand  and  under  the  control  of  religion.  So  connected  it  becomes 
a  Levite  in  the  temple  of  God,  a  handmaid  of  the  bride.  It  acts 
as  a  pioneer  of  the  gospel  till  the  spoils  that  are  taken  from 
Egypt  shall  beautify  the  temple  of  Salem,  and  all  nature  bring 
its  trophies  to  adorn  the  Redeemer's  triumph. 

It  is  evident,  in  the  next  place,  that  though  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon liked  Daniel  the  scholar,  he  did  not  much  like  Daniel  the 
Christian.  He  wished  Daniel  and  his  friends  to  be  taught  all  the 
learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans ;  and  he  wished  him  at 
the  same  time  to  be  taught  to  serve  the  gods  and  sympathize  with 
the  religion  of  the  Chaldeans.     The  king  liked  Daniel's  scholar- 


84  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

ship,  but  not  his  religion.  lie  would  gladly  avail  liiinfcelf  of 
Daniel's  science  ;  but  he  would  have  liked  it  separate  and  dis- 
tinct from  Daniel's  religion.  So  it  is  with  the  world  still ;  men 
admire  an  eloquent  sermon^  if  there  be  not  much  gospel  in  it — 
they  are  pleased  with  an  argumentative  discourse,  if  it  does  not 
touch  some  tender  part  of  their  consciences.  There  are  many 
who  would  be  delighted  with  Christianity  if  they  could  only  get 
rid  of  that  continual  appeal  to  their  conscience  which  runs  through 
the  Bible.  They  have  the  greatest  respect  for  the  decencies  of 
Christianity,  and  would  even  tolerate  real  Christianity,  provided 
it  does  not  become  too  earnest — too  urgent  for  supremacy  and 
mastery  in  the  human  heart. 

But  the  king  of  Babylon  not  only  wished  to  unteach  Daniel 
his  Christianity;  but,  in  order  to  detach  him  still  more  completely 
from  his  Hebrew  associations,  he  changed  his  name.  He  had 
the  more  reason  for  doing  so  in  this  case,  because  the  names 
of  each  of  the  three  children  had  ^^  God''  in  it,  and  thus  served 
to  remind  them  of  the  religion  they  professed.  But  every  name 
which  the  Chaldee  monarch  gave  them  was  either  merely  civil  and 
social,  or  contained  an  allusion  actually  idolatrous.  "  Daniel,'^ 
for  instance,  signifies  ^^  God  my  Judge ;"  '^  Hananiah,''  the  oii- 
ginal  of  the  Latin  "John,''  means  "Grace  of  Jehovah;"  "Mi- 
shael,"  "Asked  of  God;"  "Azariah,"  "The  Lord  is  my  Keeper." 
These  names  were  to  the  exiled  youths,  witnesses  for  God,  and 
mementos  of  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  The  king  of  Babjdon, 
therefore,  called  Daniel  "  Belteshazzar,"  which  means,  "The 
treasurer  of  the  god  Bel;"  Hananiah  he  called  "  Shadrach," 
"The  messenger  of  the  king;"  and  Mishael  he  called  "Meshach," 
a  name  denoting,  "The  devotee  of  the  goddess  Shesach;"  and 
Azariah  had  his  name  changed  into- "  Abed-nego,"  which  signifies 
"The  servant  of  Nego,"  one  of  the  gods  of  Babylon.  Thus 
Nebuchadnezzar  heathenized  their  names,  in  hopes  that  he  might 
thereby  be  the  better  able  to  heathenize  their  hearts.  There  is 
much  in  a  name.     A  great  poet  has  said — 

"  What's  in  a  name  ?  tliat  ■\vliich  we  call  a  rose 
By  any  other  name  Tfould  smell  as  sweet." 

Abstractedly  and  logically,  he  is  correct ;  but  practically  we  find 


CHRISTIAN   STEADFASTNESS.  35 

that  there  is  a  great  deal  in  a  name.  So  thought  the  king  of 
Babylon;  and  when  he  changed  the  names  of  the  young  Hebrew 
captives,  he  imagined  that  he  had  made  a  grand  step  toward 
changing  their  creed  and  their  character.  But  in  this  he  was 
mistaken :  the  alteration  of  names  did  not  alter  the  conduct  of 
those  that  bore  them.  The  Hebrew  youths  made  no  resistance, 
but  quietly  took  the  names  assigned  them,  just  as  Christians  have 
ever  taken  patiently  the  reproaches  of  the  world,  and  borne  them 
joyfully;  but,  even  in  this  new  nomenclature,  they  heard  the  un- 
dertone or  echo  of  those  dear  and  holy  names  which  their  fathers 
had  given  them ;  and  they  felt  that  though  a  tyrant  might  change 
their  names,  no  tyrant  can  change  a  Christian's  conviction  or  a 
Christian's  heart.  Neither  the  sheepskins  nor  the  goatskins  of 
the  martyrs  made  them  less  lovely  before  God ;  the  beauty  of  the 
king's  daughter  is  not  a  beauty  that  man  can  make  or  mar;  her 
beauty  is  within,  it  is  a  moral — a  hidden,  and  so  a  lasting  beauty. 
The  king  of  Babylon,  we  read,  yet  further  to  identify  these 
four  Hebrew  youths  with  himself  and  his  religion,  sent  them  food 
from  the  royal  table.  Yv'e  know  that  this  was  a  mark  of  great 
generosity.  It  was,  as  it  were,  saying  to  these  Hebrew  youths, 
If  you  will  become  priests  of  our  temple,  we  will  give  you  an 
endowment  from  the  state.  I  do  not  say  here  whether  endow- 
ment is  right  or  wrong.  Truth  can  do  without  it,  and  may  law- 
fully take  it;  but  truth  is  not  to  be  promoted  by  the  sword, 
neither  is  error  to  be  maintained  by  the  treasury.  This  sending 
them  meat  from  the  royal  table  was  a  mark  of  esteem — a  degree 
of  preferment ;  and  as  such  it  should  be  received  with  gratitude ; 
but  it  was  refused  in  this  case  because  it  involved  the  sacrifice 
of  principle.  Every  Jew  was  forbidden  by  the  law  to  eat  any 
but  animals  of  certain  classes  which  v/ere  called  clean.  Herein 
lay  one  objection  to  the  Hebrew  youths  accepting  the  proiFered 
honour  of  eating  from  the  royal  table.  But  whether  our  meat 
be  from  the  table  of  the  monarch  or  elsewhere,  it  must  not  lead 
us  to  abandon  one  jot  of  what  we  believe  to  be  true,  or  to  adopt 
the  least  item  of  what  we  believe  to  be  unscriptural  and  untrue. 
The  object  of  the  king,  as  I  have  explained  to  you,  was  partly  to 
engage  their  sympathies  with  heathenism,  and  partly  to  identify 


36  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

them  more  with  the  idol  gods  whom  he  worshipped.  But  another 
ODJection  on  the  part  of  Daniel  and  his  friends  arose  from  the 
fact,  to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  that  it  was  customary  with 
the  Chaldeans,  as  with  other  heathen  nations,  always  to  com- 
mence their  meals  by  the  dedication  of  their  food  to  tlie  idols 
whom  they  adored.  Speaking  of  this  subject,  the  apostle  tells 
us,  1  Cor.  X.  27,  28,  '^If  any  of  them  that  believe  not  bid  you 
to  a  feast,  and  ye  be  disposed  to  go ;  whatsoever  is  set  before  you, 
eat,  asking  no  question  for  conscience'  sake  :  but  if  any  man  say 
unto  you,  This  is  oifered  in  sacrifice  unto  idols,  eat  not  for  his 
sake  that  showed  it,  and  for  conscience'  sake."  This  was  just 
the  case  of  the  Hebrew  youths;  and  in  settling  this  question 
they  argued  thus:  '^  Shall  I,"  said  Daniel,  "ask  my  conscience, 
or  shall  I  ask  my  appetite  ?  shall  I  cease  to  live  as  an  Israelite, 
or  shall  I  cease  to  live  as  the  protege  of  my  royal  master  ?  shall 
I  give  up  the  dignity  reflected  from  the  throne,  or  shall  I  give 
up  the  honour  that  cometh  from  Grod  only  ?"  Had  Daniel  been 
one  of  those  modern  easy,  accommodating  Christians,  who  when 
they  go  to  Rome  say,  "•  We  must  do  as  Eome  does,"  and  when 
they  go  to  Constantinople,  "We  must  do  as  Constantinople  does," 
he  would  have  acted  very  differently.  But  he  felt  that  truth  has 
no  latitude ;  the  living  religion  of  the  living  God  knows  no  lon- 
gitude. It  is  to  be  the  same  in  London  as  in  Paris;  it  is  to 
have  supremacy  in  all  countries  and  in  all  climes;  whether  in 
Constantinople,  or  in  Rome,  or  in  England,  we  must  be  the  wor- 
shippers of  the  living  God,  by  Christ  the  living  way,  and  through 
the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  comforter  of  all  that  believe. 
My  dear  friends,  make  the  world  bow  to  your  religion  ;  never  let 
your  religion  bow  to  the  world.  Let  the  world  fail,  and  let  give 
way  who  will,  the  earnest  Christian  and  the  honest  man  never  ■ 
will  give  way.  Do  not  try  to  be  rude ;  that  is  not  necessary. 
Do  not  offensively  obtrude  what  you  believe  upon  others;  but 
when  it  is  demanded — when  you  are  called  upon  to  sacrifice  your 
principles  and  to  deny  your  Lord,  remember  that  there  can  be 
little  hesitation  when  the  question  is  whether  you  are  to  obej^ 
God,  or  to  obey  man.  Daniel  so  acted,  and  Daniel  was  blessed 
in  doing  so. 

Be  ye  followers  of  Daniel,  and  of  all  "  those  who  through  faith 


CHRISTIAN   STEADFASTNESS.  37 

and  patience  inherited  the  promises."  Study  Daniel,  and  copy 
him,  as  far  as  he  copied  Christ.  We  admire  this  star,  because  it 
shines  in  the  light  of  Christ  the  original. 

"  Faithful  found 
Among  tho  faithless;  faithful  only  ho, 
Among  innumerable  false  ;  unmoved, 
Unshaken,  unseduced,  unterrified. 
His  loyalty  he  kept,  his  love  and  zeal. 
Nor  number  nor  example  with  him  wrought 
To  swerve  from  truth,  or  change  his  constant  mind. 
Though  single." 


LECTURE   III. 

LIVING   TO   GOD   IN   LITTLE   THINGS. 

In  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judali  came  Nebuchad- 
nezzar king  of  Babylon  unto  Jerusalem,  and  besieged  it.  And  the  Lord  gave 
Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah  into  his  hand,  with  part  of  the  vessels  of  the  house 
of  God :  which  he  carried  into  the  land  of  Shinar  to  the  house  of  his  god ; 
and  he  brought  the  vessels  into  the  treasure-house  of  his  god.  And  the  king 
spake  unto  Ashpenaz  the  master  of  his  eunuchs,  that  he  should  bring  certain 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  of  the  king's  seed,  and  of  the  princes ;  chil- 
dren in  whom  was  no  blemish,  but  well  favoured,  and  skilful  in  all  wisdom, 
and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and  understanding  science,  and  such  as  had  abi- 
lity in  them  to  stand  in  the  king's  palace,  and  whom  they  might  teach  the 
learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans.  And  the  king  appointed  them  a 
daily  provision  of  the  king's  meat,  and  of  the  wine  which  he  drank :  so 
nourishing  them  three  years,  that  at  the  end  thereof  they  might  stand  before 
the  king.  Now  among  these  were  of  the  children  of  Judah,  Daniel,  Haua- 
niah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah :  unto  whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  gave 
names:  for  he  gave  unto  Daniel  the  name  of  Belteshazzar ;  and  to  Hanna- 
niah,  of  Shadrach ;  and  to  Mishael,  of  Meshach;  and  to  Azariah,  of  Abed- 
nego.  But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not  defile  himself 
with  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat,  nor  with  the  wine  which  he  drank : 
therefore  he  requested  of  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  that  he  might  not  defile 
himself.  Now  God  had  brought  Daniel  into  favour  and  tender  love  with  the 
prince  of  the  eunuchs.  And  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  said  unto  Daniel,  I 
fear  my  lord  the  king,  who  hath  appointed  your  meat  and  your  drink:  for 
why  should  he  see  your  faces  worse  liking  than  the  children  which  are  of 
your  sort?  then  shall  ye  make  me  endanger  my  head  to  the  king.  Then 
said  Daniel  to  Melzar,  whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  had  set  over  Daniel, 
Ilananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah,  Prove  thy  servants,  I  beseech  thee,  ten 
days ;  and  let  them  give  u^  pulse  to  eat,  and  water  to  drink.  Then  let  our 
countenances  be  looked  upon  before  thee,  and  the  countenance  of  the  children 
that  cat  of  the  portion  of  the  king's  meat :  and  as  thou  seest,  deal  with  thy 
servants." — Daniel  i.  1-13. 

In  my  introductory  discourse  upon  this  truly  interesting  book, 
I  have  endeavoured  first  of  all  to  show  you  that  the  assumption 
that  the  book  was  written  at  the  epoch  at  which  it  is  said  to  have 
been  written,  viz.  about  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of 


LIVING    TO  GOD   IN   LITTLE   TIHNGS.  39 

Christj  can  be  proved  to  be  fact  by  internal  as  well  as  collateral 
evidence.  I  quoted  various  passages  from  the  book  itself  in  proof 
of  this  fact,  for  most  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  Hengstenberg, 
the  celebrated  German  vindicator  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  and  of 
the  Pentateuch;  and  I  showed  from  several  circumstances  that 
the  book  must  have  been  penned  at  the  time,  in  the  country,  and 
under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  professes  to  have  been 
written. 

I  then  referred  to  the  circumstances  in  which  the  four  captive 
Hebrew  youths  were  placed.  They  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  in  the  eujoyment  of  all  the  reli- 
gious privileges  of  Jerusalem ;  and  now,  in  the  land  of  their  cap- 
tivity, and  among  their  heathen  conquerors,  the  principles  they 
had  imbibed  in  their  youth  were  put  to  the  severest  test. 

I  endeavoured  from  these  facts  to  draw  the  inference,  that  a 
Christian  education  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  you  can  bestow 
on  those  that  are  around  you.  The  infant  generation  of  to-day 
are  the  adult  generation  of  to-morrow;  and  very  much  what  we 
now  make  them,  that  they  will  be.  As  Christian  men  we  must 
feel  it  hard  and  painful  to  see  the  child — the  all  but  child — 
brought  up  at  the  police  court,  and  sent  to  the  treadmill,  or 
banished  to  Botany  Bay,  when  we  recollect  that  it  is  those  who 
read  the  intelligence  who  are  to  be  blamed  for  leaving  that  child 
without  the  means  of  Christian  and  scriptural  instruction ;  and 
it  may  be  that  much  of  the  blood  of  those  that  thus  perish  in 
their  sins  may  lie  at  our  door.  At  all  events,  no  Christian  con- 
gregation is  warranted  in  being  without  a  Christian  school ;  and 
the  larger  and  the  more  influential  the  congregation,  the  larger 
and  the  better  supported  ought  the  school  to  be.  Depend  upon 
it,  that  the  first  lesson  a  son  receives  from  a  mother  is  the  last 
lesson  that  a  son  recollects  upon  earth ;  and  though  the  earliest 
truths  that  we  are  taught  at  school  may  be  silenced  for  a  season, 
or  overborne  by  the  din  and  the  roar  of  the  wheels  and  the  ma- 
chinery of  mammon,  yet  the  hour  will  come  when  that  earl}' 
lesson,  as  if  touched  by  some  living  influence,  will  instantly  revive 
in  all  its  beauty  and  its  freshness ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  John 
Newton,  when  tossed  upon  the  tempestuous  deep,  conscience  will 
reason  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come.     So 


40  rROniETlC   STUDIES. 

it  was  in  the  case  of  Daniel ;  the  lessons  he  had  learned  in  his 
childhood  were  the  lessons  that  guided  him,  comforted  him, 
strengthened  him,  when  a  captive  in  the  midst  of  Babylon. 

I  noticed  another  feature;  namely,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  the 
king,  seeing  these  youths  well  instructed,  evidently  well  educated, 
and  one  of  them,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  of  royal  lineage,  was 
j  anxious  to  make  them  adopt  his  religion.  He  did  not  try  on  this 
occasion  the  great  blunder  that  is  sometimes  perpetrated,  of  driving 
them  into  his  religion,  or  persecuting  and  punishing  them — as  if 
the  punishment  of  the  body  could,  in  any  case,  promote  the  con- 
viction of  the  soul.  He  tried  a  far  more  artful  plan.  First  of 
all,  he  changed  their  names ;  for  he  knew  that  so  long  as  they 
were  called  by  their  Hebrew  names,  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael, 
and  Azariah,  so  long  there  would  be  in  their  names  mementos  of 
early  lessons  and  early  associations.  He  therefore  determined 
upon  the  expedient — and  it  was  a  most  clever  though  in  this 
case,  by  the  grace  of  Grod,  an  unsuccessful  one — of  changing  the 
names  of  the  Hebrew  youths ;  hoping  that,  as  they  forgot  their 
names,  they  would  forget  the  creed  with  which  they  were  asso- 
ciated. As  I  told  you,  every  one  of  these  three  names  denotes 
something  in  connection  with  God,  and  thereby  served  to  remind 
them  of  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  He  therefore  called  Daniel, 
Belteshazzar;  Hananiah,  Shadrach;  Mishael,  Meshach;  and  Aza- 
riah, Abed-nego  :  which  were  all  names  containing  some  allusion 
to  his  heathen  idols.  A  Christian  name  is  a  very  beautiful  thing; 
and  we  should  always  prefer  to  give  our  children  names  that  in 
themselves  are  eloquent  with  whatever  things  are  pure  and  beau- 
tiful and  just,  or  which  are  by  their  associations  connected  with 
the  good  and  great  who  have  preceded  us  to  glory.  And  we  can- 
not but  sometimes  lament,  when  we  are  called  upon  to  baptize  a 
child  by  some  name  that  reminds  us  of  the  gods  of  Greece  or 
Rome,  or  the  idols  of  the  heathen,  and  not  of  those  sainted  names 
that  have  passed  before  us  into  immortalit}^ 

After  this  plan  had  been  adopted  by  Nebuchadnezzar  he  fol- 
lowed it  up  by  another.  He  thought  that  these  Hebrew  youths, 
having  had  their  names  thus  changed,  might,  by  Chaldean  food, 
be  made  much  more  easily  the  subjects  of  Chaldean  instruction. 
He,  therefore,  did  not  allow  them  to  be  fed  on  the  ordinary  food 


LIVING   TO   GOD   IN  LITTLE   THINGS.  41 

of  captives,  but  lie  ordered  that  they  should  receive  their  meat 
from  the  king's  table.  Daniel  immediately  refused  it — some 
would  say,  on  very  paltry  grounds.  Those  very  liberal  Chris- 
tians, but  whom  I  venture  to  call  very  latitudinarian  Christians ; 
for  it  is  very  possible  to  be  liberal  and  yet  not  to  be  latitudina- 
rian ;  liberal  all  Christianity  bids  us  be — latitudinarian  not  one 
verse  of  it  authorizes  us  to  be ;  we  cannot  be  too  liberal  in  con- 
ceding to  a  brother  the  largest  husk  of  prejudice ;  we  cannot  be 
too  strict  in  refusing  to  compromise  the  least  living  seed  of  vital 
and  essential  truth; — now,  some  of  these  'liberal,"  or  rather,  as 
I  said,  latitudinarian  Christians,  would  have  said  that  when  Daniel 
refused  the  king's  meat,  and  preferred  pulse  and  water,  he  was  a 
very  scrupulous  Jew ;  others  would  have  said,  perhaps  he  thought 
that  drinking  wine  was  in  itself  sinful,  and  that  water  alone  was 
lawful ;  others  would  say,  he  need  not  have  been  so  very  strict  in 
Babylon  as  he  was  in  Jerusalem ;  that  in  Rome  men  should  do  as 
Rome  does ;  in  Constantinople  men  should  do  as  Constantinople 
does ;  and  in  London  men  should  do  as  London  does.  How  can 
any  one  seriously  say  so  ?  Is  duty  a  thing  of  latitude  and  longi- 
tude ?  Does  that  which  is  a  duty  here  become  the  reverse  there  ? 
If  I  read  my  Bible  right — if  I  interpret  the  first  lessons  of  con- 
science right,  duty  is  like  its  God,  the  same  everywhere;  and 
what  is  a  duty,  and  loyalty,  and  allegiance  to  Him,  is  the  same 
whether  amid  polar  snows  or  in  the  torrid  zone ;  in  Rome,  where 
the  superstitious  hierarch  reigns ;  or  in  Constantinople,  where  the 
fallen  star  and  the  crescent  are.  Daniel  felt  it  so,  and  he  there- 
fore refused  the  royal  bounty.  But  you  ask,  was  there  a  valid 
ground  for  refusing  it  ?  I  answer  there  was ;  and  I  thus  explain 
the  reason  of  it.  Among  the  heathens,  before  commencing  a 
meal,  the  meat  was  first  offered  or  dedicated  to  the  Lares  or  house- 
hold gods,  and  a  portion  of  the  wine  was  poured  out  as  a  libation 
to  the  idols  whom  they  adored.  What  we  call  ''  saying  grace,'' 
or,  to  use  a  much  more  Christian  phrase,  "  asking  a  blessing," 
was  among  them  performed  by  offering  a  portion  of  the  meat  and  a 
portion  of  the  wine  to  the  presiding  divinities  of  their  houses.  The 
apostle  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  reasons  thus  upon 
the  subject:  "It  is  nothing  to  you,  of  course,  that  he  has  done  so; 
but  if  he  means  to  entrap  you  into  an  expression  of  sympathy  with 


42  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

his  idolatry,  by  eating  of  his  food  thus  dedicated  to  an  idol,  then 
'  you  must  abstain  from  it."  Daniel  acted  on  this  principle ;  and  he 
preferred  the  pulse  and  water,  the  least  nutritious  of  the  elements  of 
nature,  to  the  daintier  cheer  of  the  royal  table ;  because  he  would 
rather  have  had,  what  I  trust  you  would  rather  have,  the  smiles 
of  your  God  from  heaven,  than  the  patronage  of  the  mightiest 
king  that  ever  swayed  a  sceptre  upon  the  earth. 

Time  would  not  permit  me,  in  my  last  lecture,  to  draw  all  the 
practical  lessons  from  this  fact  which  I  had  intended  to  do.  I 
will,  therefore,  turn  your  attention  to  them  now.  Daniel's  refusal 
seemed,  at  first  sight,  somewhat  uncalled  for.  Refusing  the  meat 
from  the  royal  table,  and  the  wine  from  the  royal  cellar,  seemed, 
I  say,  frivolous  to  the  worldling,  but  it  involved  a  great  principle. 
His  refusal  seemed  small  to  the  eye,  but  it  was  the  turning  point 
..,of  his  Christianity.  To  have  acted  otherwise  would  have  been  no 
concession  of  a  prejudice — it  would  have  been  no  mere  giving  way 
in  matters  of  detail )  it  would  have  been  surrender  of  principle — 
compromise  of  truth — apostasy  from  his  religion  j  and  Daniel  felt 
that  it  was  a  light  thing  to  be  judged  of  man,  for  He  that  judged 
him  was  Grod.  And  have  not  we  something  to  learn  from  Daniel's 
conduct  ?  He  was  placed  under  a  darker  dispensation,  when  the 
belief  of  Christ  spoke  good  things,  but  spoke  them  faintly ;  while 
we  are  placed  in  a  brighter  dispensation,  where,  as  I  showed  you 
in  a  morning  discourse,  the  belief  of  Christ  speaks  better  things, 
and  speaks  them  eloquently  and  distinctly.  Are  there  not  some 
among  us,  against  whom  these  Hebrew  captives  will  rise  up  in 
judgment  in  this  matter?  Are  there  any  here  who  would  sacri- 
Ifice  their  conscience,  with  its  awful  rec|uirements,  to  their  tempo- 
I  rary  and  worldly  convenience  ?  who  would  stifle  the  convictions 
;  that  are  deepest  in  order  to  gain  some  temporary  and  evanescent 
advantage — who  would  give  iip  an  article  in  their  creed  rather 

(than  miss  a  good  place,  or  lose  a  valuable  living  ?  Are  there  any 
here  who  would  risk  the  condemnation  of  their  God  rather  than 
incur  the  sneer  of  man,  or  lose  the  king's  meat  when  that  meat  is 
the  most  rich,  or  the  king's  wine  when  it  is  red  in  the  cup  ?  If 
such  there  be,  Daniel  even  now  ris^s  from  his  grave,  and  will  rise 
at  the  resurrection  morn  and  bear  witness  against  them,  for  seek- 
ing their  temporal  advantage — though  in  so  doing  I  shall  show 


LIVING    TO   GOD   IN   LITTLE   THLXGS.  43 

that  they  kave  missed  it — and  forgetting  and  neglecting  their  eter- 
nal and  inexhaustible  obligations  to  God.  If  this  be  so,  listen  to  \ 
this  the  first  great  lesson  that  I  draw  from  the  passage  before  us. 
The  Lord  said,  "  He  that  is  faithful  in  a  little  is  faithful  also  : 
in  much  ;  and  he  that  is  unjust  in  a  little  is  unjust  also  in 
much."^  There  is  more  force,  more  point,  more  application  to  our- 
selves in  this  sentence,  than  we  are  sometimes  disposed  to  admit. 
Many  Christians  are  like  Naaman  the  Syrian,  ever  trying  to  do 
some  great  thing,  and  thinking  that  if  a  great  crisis  were  to  come, 
they  would  have  their  nerves  prepared  to  meet  it,  and  in  God's  ; 
strength  they  would  be  able  to  triumph.  Many  Christians  tell 
us  that  they  cannot  find  a  place  large  enough  for  the  discharge  of  l 
their  duties ;  to  them  religion  becomes  a  sort  of  romance ;  and  in-  \ 
stead  of  quietly  laying  one  brick  upon  the  earth,  they  are  con- 
stantly building  a  thousand  castles  in  the  air — instead  of  discharg- 
ing the  plain  every-day  duty,  and  showing  their  faithfulness  and 
love  in  it,  they  pass  life  in  looking  for  some  grand  occasion  for  the 
display  of  their  Christian  virtues — thinking  that  though  they  can- 
not live  as  Christians  should  live,  if  the  crisis  were  to  come  they 
would  die  as  martyrs  have  died.  You  are  mistaken.  If  you  can- 
not be  faithful  in  the  least,  you  cannot  be  faithful  in  much.  I 
believe  it  to  be  a  very  important  thought,  that  there  are  no  little 
things  in  morals,  though  there  may  be  little  things  in  matter. 
Have  not  you  yourselves  found  that  many  a  great  crisis  which  has 
absorbed  your  whole  soul  for  years,  has  left  yet  upon  it  no  deep 
impression  that  survives  at  the  present  moment  ?  And  I  appeal 
to  some  other  man's  experience;  has  not  sometimes  a  random  con- 
versation in  a  railway  carriage — an  accidental  interview  with  a 
friend  in  the  place  of  business — the  turning  of  your  foot  into  a 
place  of  worship  that  was  near,  because  it  rained,  instead  of  going 
to  your  usual  place  of  worship  at  a  greater  distance — have  not  lit- 
tle things  such  as  these,  and  such  as  we  call  so,  become  the  turn- 
ing points  in  your  character ;  so  that,  humanly  speaking,  if  some 
such  apparently  small  event  had  not  taken  place,  the  whole  after 
conduct  of  your  life  would  have  been  changed  ?  Thus  we  learn  that 
events  which  seem  to  us  frivolous  and  unimportant,  may  become 
the  Thermopylae  of  a  Christian's  conflict,  the  Marathon  of  a  nation's 
being  J  the  turning  point  of  everlasting  life  or  everlasting  death. 


^- 


44  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

Let  me  notice  in  the  next  place,  in  order  to  vindicate  and  en- 
force faithfulness  in  what  are  called  little  things — for  it  was  Da- 
niel's faithfulness  in  things  such  as  these,  which  gave  tone  and 
complexion  to  his  whole  after  life — that  in  the  providence  and  the 
creation  of  God,  you  will  find  that  God  as  Creator,  or  God  as 
Provider,  expends  as  much  care,  wisdom,  time,  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  certainly  attention,  on  the  very  least  things  as  he  does 
on  the  very  greatest.  If  you  examine  the  petal  of  a  rose  you 
T/ill  find  it  as  exquisitely  and  as  delicately  tinted  and  touched  by 
the  pencil  of  God  as  the  largest  star  that  shines  and  stands  like  a 
sentinel  before  the  throne  of  God.  If  you  take  the  mightiest  orb 
that  the  telescope  brings  within  your  horizon,  you  will  find  that 
it  is  not  finished  with  greater  care  than  the  smallest  molecule  of 
matter  that  the  microscope  reveals  to  your  view.  In  all  God's 
works  you  will  see  infinite  detail,  exquisite  elaboration  of  the 
minutest  and  the  most  microscopic  things,  patient  labour,  process, 
attention;  and  if  we  would  be  like  God,  let  us  take  care  to  be 
faithful  in  the  very  least  duty  as  well  as  in  the  largest  sacrifice 
that  he  requires  of  us. 

In  the  next  place,  if  you  will  notice  that  sublime  life — which 
is  sublimer  than  providence,  more  stupendous  than  creation — 
the  life  of  the  Son  of  God  upon  earth,  you  will  notice  v/hat  has 
often*  been  overlooked,  that,  according  to  the  same  great  analogy, 
Jesus  paid  attention  to  little  things  in  his  life,  as  great,  as  marked, 
as  striking,  as  to  the  greatest  acts  that  he  did.  And  I  have  felt  it 
in  my  own  mind,  as  well  as  noticed  it  in  others,  that  when  we 
quote  the  character  of  Jesus,  and  are  trying  to  show  how  grand 
it  was,  we  point  to  him  stretching  out  his  hand,  laying  it  upon  the 
crested  waves  of  the  unruly  ocean,  and  making  it  lie  down  and  be 
still;  we  quote  him  turning  water  into  wine,  opening  the  closed 
eye,  and  unstopping  the  deaf  ear.  And  we  say  how  great  was  He  ! 
But  I  doubt  whether  these  are  the  highest  proofs  of  the  greatness 
of  the  Son  of  God.  You  find,  at  all  events,  that  while  he  could  thus 
display  his  mighty  power  in  these  great  things,  he  yet  descended 
to  what  you  would  call  very  minute  things.  I  watch  him,  and  I 
find  him  one  moment  speaking  in  beautiful  but  truth-breathing 
tones  to  Martha,  exhorting  her  not  to  be  over  anxious  about  the 
affiiirs  of  her  household.     I  find  him  again  sitting  down  weary 


LIVING   TO   GOD   IN    LITTLE   THINGS.  45 

and  wayworn  at  tlie  well  of  Samaria^  and  expending  upon  one 
poor  woman  more  of  eloquent,  and  earnest,  and  impressive  reason- 
ing than  lie  ever  expended  npon  kings,  and  counsellors,  and 
high-priests. 

And  just  after  he  had  wrought  the  great  miracle  of  turning  the 
few  loaves  and  fishes  into  food  for  five  thousand,  you  find  him 
closing  that  stupendous  evidence  of  stupendous  power,  by  bidding 
his  disciples  gather  up  the  crumbs  that  remained  in  order  that 
nothing  might  be  lost.  Or,  to  notice  a  yet  more  striking  instance, 
when  he  hung  upon  the  cross  in  that  dire  and  bitter  agony  which 
is  so  graphically  recorded  by  the  Evangelists,  and  which  Chris- 
tians, Sabbath  after  Sabbatli,  commemorate,  with  the  whole 
burden  of  a  world's  transgressions  resting  upon  him,  do  you 
recollect  that  touching  and  affecting  fact,  that  while  one  moment 
he  could  cry,  in  anguish  which  no  language  can  depict,  '^  Eli,  Eli, 
lama  sabachthani?''  ^^  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?"  the  next  moment  he  descends  to  say  to  John,  ''  Behold  thy 
mother  !"  committing,  even  in  this  hour  of  overwhelming  sorrow, 
a  weeping  mother  to  the  care  of  a  faithful  friend.  And  when, 
having  completed  the  stupendous  work  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
he  rose  triumphant  from  the  grave — when  the  great  stone  was 
rolled  away  at  his  bidding,  and  all  the  obstructions  of  the  tomb 
were  rent  asunder  at  his  word,  do  you  remember,  what  we  might 
consider  a  very  petty  and  trivial  incident,  but  really  not  so,  that 
we  are  told  by  the  Evangelist  that  the  napkin  that  had  been 
wrapped  around  the  Saviour's  head  was  found,  not  left  behind  in 
a  state  of  confusion,  but  rolled  up  and  laid  aside  by  itself?  and 
how  he  said  to  the  women  whose  affection  led  them  first  to  the 
sepulchre,  "Go  and  tell  my  disciples  and  Peter?"  What 
attention  to  little  things  !  What  care  over  minute  things  !  What 
faithfulness  in  that  which  is  least  as  well  as  in  that  which  is 
great ! — a  precedent  and  an  example  that  we  should  follow  in  his 
steps. 

There  is  often  as  much  real  religion  to  be  shown  in  little  things 
as  in  great  things.  You  have  in  Daniel  all  the  feeling  and  the 
religious  principle  that  a  martyr  would  require  for  a  martyr's 
triumphs,  but  it  is  exhibited  in  a  circumstance  the  most  minute 
and  apparently  unimportant.     As  great  love  may  be  displayed  to 


46  PROriiETlC   STUDIES. 

our  relatives  in  attention  to  little  things,  as  in  great  and  laborious 
sacrifices.  Peter  could  unsheatli  his  sword,  and  cut  off  the  ear 
of  Malchus  to  defend  his  Master;  but  Peter  could  not  help 
denying  his  Lord  when  accused  by  the  servants  of  being  a  friend 
of  Jesus.  We  have  learned  little  Christianity  if  we  have  not 
learned  this,  that  it  needs  as  much  grace  to  live  divinely  as  it 
does  to  die  divinely.  It  is  possible  to  give  our  bodies  to  be 
burned,  and  to  distribute  all  our  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  yet 
not  to  have  that  love  which  endureth  all  things,  beareth  all  things, 
hopeth  all  things,  and  is  the  highest  evidence  of  our  connection 
■with  and  our  belonging  to  God.  Then,  my  dear  friends,  feeling 
this — seeing  that  there  is  weight  in  what  I  have  now  said,  be- 
cause there  is  truth  in  it,  let  us  seek  to  be  thus  faithful  in  that 
which  is  least.  Let  us  ever  remember  that  to  be  singular  for  the 
mere  sake  of  singularity  is  absurd ;  but  to  be  singular  when  the 
call  of  duty  and  faithfulness  to  God  demands  it,  is  the  evidence 
of  a  true  Christian.  Let  us  purpose,  like  Daniel,  not  to  defile 
ourselves  with  any  meat,  even  though  it  be  the  king's.  It  may 
be  unfashionable,  but  it  is  Christian.  It  may  look  occasionally 
singular,  but  it  is  the  singularity  of  principle,  not  the  singularity 
of  caprice.  It  may  cost  us  much  self-denial,  but  it  is  a  part  of 
our  welfare.  It  may  be  construed  as  scrupulosity  or  fastidious- 
ness, but  it  is  really  an  element  of  Christian  character.  And  if 
we  desire  to  be  steadfast  and  to  conquer  in  the  minute  as  well  as 
in  the  mighty,  in  the  least  as  well  as  in  the  greatest,  let  us  re- 
collect that  we  have  the  same  source  of  strength  -and  of  victory 
that  Daniel  had,  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;"  only  we  must  not,  as  some  persons  do, 
confound  two  things  that  differ  completely.  They  think  they 
cannot  be  faithful  without  being  very  rude;  they  fancy  they, 
cannot  be  true  to  God  without  being  very  discourteous,  and  per- 
haps very  vulgar  in  their  expressions  toward  man.  Now,  whether 
vulgarity  and  rudeness  be  sins  or  virtues,  it  is  needless  to  discuss; 
at  all  events  they  arc  not  certainly  evidence  that  there  is  faith- 
fulness along  with  them.  Notice  Daniel's  example.  He  combines 
all  the  courtesy  of  the  most  finished  courtier,  with  all  the  stead- 
fastness of  the  most  devoted  Christian.  When  he  was  told  that 
his  name  should  be  changed  he  bore  it  with  all  meekness ;  the 


LIVING   TO   GOD   IN   LITTLE    THINGS.  47 

ancient  followers  of  the  cross  were  clothed  with  sheepskins  and 
goatskins ;  thcj  wandered  in  deserts  and  caves  of  the  earthy  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented ;  thej  were  branded  with  every 
ignominy,  and  regarded  by  all  men  as  the  very  off-scouring  of  the 
earth.  Yet  they  took  it  all  patient!}^ — so  did  Daniel  bear  Ids 
cross ;  but  when  it  came  to  a  point  of  principle,  when  he  was 
ordered  to  eat  the  king's  meat,  and  thereby  deny  his  religion,  wc 
do  not  find  him  fly  into  a  furious  state  of  excitement,  or  use  the 
language  of  bravado ;  there  was  no  outbreak  of  temper,  no 
boasting,  no  insolence  or  defiance.  He  did  not  say,  ^'  Tell  the 
king  I  will  not  do  so."  That  would  have  been  violence,  rude- 
ness, insolence — the  least  effective  and  the  least  expedient.  He 
had  confidence  in  his  religious  principles ;  he  trusted  in  the  good-^ 
ness  of  his  cause ;  he  relied  upon  the  God  whom  he  served ;  and 
the  reply  which  he  made  to  Melzar,  whom  the  prince  of  the 
eunuchs  had  set  over  him  and  his  fellows,  was  this,  ''  Prove  thy 
servants,  I  beseech  thee,'' — the  language  of  perfect  respect, — 
''  ten  days ;  and  let  them  give  us  pulse  to  eat,  and  water  to  drink. 
Then  let  our  countenances  be  looked  upon  before  thee,  and  the 
countenance  of  the  children  that  eat  of  the  portion  of  the  king's 
meat :  and  as  thou  seest,  deal  with  thy  servants."  What  gentle- 
ness and  courtesy  !  as  well  as  what  a  sanctified  heart !  the  highest 
Christianity  is  always  associated  with  the  highest  courtesy.  My 
conviction  is  that  none  but  a  finished  Christian  can  be  a  finished 
gentleman ;  for  if  there  be  genuine  Christianity  in  the  heart, 
the  manners  will  be  but  the  outward  evidences  of  the  inward 
feelings  of  the  heart — gentle,  beautiful,  courteous,  bearing  all 
things,  hoping  all  things,  enduring  all  things.  We  find  that 
Melzar  was  so  charmed  and  delighted  to  see  so  much  self-denial 
united  to  so  great  courtesy  and  gentleness  that  he  immediately 
permitted  the  experiment  to  be  made,  and  the  result  is  stated  in 
verse  15,  that  at  the  end  of  ten  days  their  countenances  were 
found  fairer  and  fatter  in  flesh  than  those  of  the  children  that  did 
eat  of  the  king's  meat. 


48 


LECTURE  IV. 


TRUE   PRINCIPLE   IS   TRUE    EXPEDIENCY. 

"As  for  these  four  children,  God  gave  them  knowledge  and  skill  in  all 
learning  and  wisdom :  and  Daniel  had  understanding  in  all  visions  and 
dreams.  Now  at  the  end  of  the  days  that  the  king  had  said  he  should  bring 
them  in,  then  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  brought  them  in  before  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. And  the  king  communed  with  them  :  and  among  them  all  was 
found  none  like  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah:  therefore  stood  they 
before  the  king.  And  in  all  matters  of  wisdom  and  understanding  that  the  king 
inquired  of  them,  he  found  them  ten  times  better  than  all  the  magicians  and  as- 
trologers that  were  in  all  his  realm.  And  Daniel  continued  even  unto  the  first 
year  of  king  Cyrus." — Daniel  i.  17-21. 

The  next  lesson  that  we  have  to  draw  from  the  closing  verses 
of  the  chapter  is  a  very  important  one — it  is  the  result  of  Daniel's 
experiment.  Was  Daniel  a  loser  by  his  firm  adherence  to  principle  ? 
Not  at  all;  it  was  all  the  very  reverse.  We  find  that  Daniel's 
faithfulness  to  conscience^  his  allegiance  to  his  God,  his  courteous 
but  firm  refusal  to  do  that  which  was  sinful,  was  even  in  this  world 
blessed  to  him,  and  even  in  temporal  aifairs  turned  to  his  advan- 
tage. Now  I  wish  young  men  especially  to  look  at  this;  because 
the  lesson  that  I  am  drawing  from  it  is  a  much  needed  one.  The 
four  children  were  found  at  the  end  of  ten  days  to  have  been  so 
blessed  of  God,  that  not  only  were  they,  as  we  have  seen,  fairer  and 
fatter  in  flesh  than  any  of  the  children — i.  e.  the  children  of  Israel 
— who  gave  up  their  consciences  and  ate  of  the  king's  meat ;  but  the 
result  was,  in  the  end,  that  in  all  matters  of  knowledge  and  skill, 
they  were  many  times  wiser  than  all  the  magicians  and  astrologers 
that  were  in  all  the  realm.  God  honoured  his  servants.  The 
result  of  this  faithfulness  to  God  was  promotion  in  the  palace  and 
the  favour  of  the  king. 

The  lesson,  therefore,  that  I  draw  from  the  whole  subject  is  in 
these  words :  ''  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 


TRUE  PRINCIPLE  IS  TRUE  EXPEDIENCY.  40 

ness,  and  all  other  things  will  be  added  unto  you.''  In  other 
words,  make  religion  the  great  thing,  and  all  the  rest  that  you 
want  will  fall  into  its  place.  You  have  heard  of,  and  many  of 
you  have  probably  read  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian.  He 
was  the  servant  of  the  Roman  emperors,  Titus  and  Vespasian, 
and  of  course  he  was  anxious,  as  you  might  expect  in  a  man 
not  troubled  with  very  much  conscience  or  very  much  religion,  to 
please  and  propitiate  his  masters  as  much  as  possible.  He  thus 
comments  upon  the  conduct  of  Daniel  and  his  fellows  in  prefer- 
ring pulse  and  water  to  wine  and  meat  from  the  royal  table.  Of 
course,  he  could  not  say  that  it  was  Daniel's  refusal  to  patronize 
or  to  connive  at  the  idolatry  of  the  heathen  that  made  him 
so  accepted  and  beloved,  for  this  would  have  been  to  offend  his 
Roman  masters,  who  were  worshippers  of  similar  idols;  but  he 
gives  this  explanation : — ^'By  the  diet  they  took  they  had  their 
minds  in  some  measure  more  pure  and  less  burdened,  and  so  fit 
for  learning,  and  had  their  bodies  in  better  condition  for  hard 
labour;  for  they  neither  had  the  former  oppressed  with  variety  of 
meats,  nor  the  latter  effeminate  on  the  same  account ;  so  they  rea- 
dily amassed  all  the  learning  of  the  Hebrews  and  the  Chaldeans." 
Such  is  the  account  of  the  matter  given  by  this  Jewish  historian. 
Josephus  was  very  much  like  some  of  our  modern  philosophers, 
who  are  always  glad  when  they  can  explain  a  phenomenon  with- 
out G-od.  If  you  ask  them  any  thing  about  the  firmanent  above 
or  the  earth  below;  if  you  ask  them  for  a  solution  of  the  plague, 
the  pestilence,  or  the  recent  epidemic ;  if  you  ask  them  for  an  ex- 
planation of  any  one  fact  or  phenomenon  in  science,  in  history,  in 
creation,  in  Providence ;  they  have  some  hundreds  of  what  they 
call  laws,  and  they  say,  '^  Such  is  the  law  of  nature :"  and  no  doubt 
there  are  laws;  and  as  long  as  the  word  is  used  to  denote  harmony 
and  consistency  of  movement,  regularity  and  order,  so  long  it  is 
good;  but  the  moment  you  are  satisfied  with  a  reference  to  the 
law  as  an  explanation  of  the  phenomenon,  that  moment  you  are 
working  with  Josephus  and  with  the  heathen,  and  attributing  to 
lords  many  and  gods  many  that  which  is  the  clear  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  the  living  and  the  true  Grod.  The  reason  why  Daniel 
prospered  upon  pulse  and  water,  is  not  that  a  vegetarian  diet,  as 
Bome  say,  is  the  most  wholesome,  or  that  water  is  far  more  con- 

6 


60  rROPIIETIG  STUDIES. 

ducive  to  healtli  tlian  wine — though  I  believe  that  the  less  wine 
you  drink  the  better,  if  you  have  no  physical  need  for  it ;  and  I 
am  sure  that  in  perfect  health  there  is  very  little  need  for  it.  But 
this  was  not  the  reason  why  Daniel  prospered  upon  pulse  and 
water.  It  was  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  added  to  the  pulse  and 
water,  which  made  them  far  more  nutritive  than  the  king's  meat 
and  the  king's  wine,  with  that  blessing  withdrawn  from  them.  In 
other  words,  he  sought  first  God's  kingdom  and  God's  righteous- 
ness, and  all  other  things  were  added  to  him.  He  found  this  to 
be  true  :  ^'  Godliness  hath  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well 
as  of  that  which  is  to  come." 

And  now  I  say  again  to  you,  my  dear  friends,  as  the  inference 
from  all  this,  ^'Seek  first  to  do  God's  will,  and  all  other  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you.'^  Do  not  take  anxious  thought  about 
to-morrow,  but  take  prayerful  thought  about  to-day.  Depend  upon 
it  that  the  vigorous  discharge  of  to-day's  duties  will  be  the  best 
preparation  for  to-morrow's  trials.  Let  alone  to-morrow's  cares 
till  the  sun  of  to-morrow  looks  upon  them  and  awakens  them. 
"  Sufficient  for  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.'^  And  I  know  no- 
thing more  absurd  in  itself,  and  yet  nothing  more  common, 
than  for  men  to  scrape  all  to-morrow's  trials  that  may  be  or  that 
may  not  be,  and  add  them  to  the  duties  and  the  trials  of  to- 
day, forgetting  that  God  gives  us  strength  for  each  day,  and 
not  strength  for  that  day  and  the  next  likewise  ;  that  God 
gives  us  bread  for  to-day,  and  yet  not  bread  for  to-day  and 
to-morrow.  You  do  God's  will  and  stand  by  your  post,  and 
discharge  your  duties  this  day,  and  to-morrow  will  take  care 
of  itself.  "  Seek  first  God's  glory  and  God's  will,  and  all 
other  things  will  be  added  unto  you.'' 

And  therefore  I  would  say,  enlarging  and  expanding  this 
sentiment,  seek  first  to  know  God  before  other  things.  By  all " 
means  study  science  ;  but  not  science,  not  philosophy,  not  li- 
terature, not  music,  not  painting  //r.s^;  but  study  Christianity 
Jirsf.  Take  the  knowledge  of  God  into  the  school.  Into  the 
university,  into  the  encyclopaedia,  as  first  and  last.  Hear,  in- 
deed, the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  but  hear  first  the  wisdom  of 
one  greater  than  Solomon.  Do  not  go  through  Solomon  to  Christ, 
but  go   through   Christ  to  Solomon.     Seek  first  to  know  Him 


TRUE   PRI^X1PLE   IS   TRUE   EXPEDIENCY.  51 

■whom  to  know  is  eternal  life ;  then  study  science,  and  literature, 
and  painting,  and  music,  and  all  that  this  world's  learning  can 
teach.  TVe  do  not  want  to  discourage  secular  knowledge,  but  to 
plant  in  its  bosom  that  which  will  adorn,  exalt,  and  sanctify  both 
the  study  and  the  student,  and  make  the  one  an  ornament  and  the 
other  an  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

In  the  next  place  let  me  say,  study  fii'st  of  all  the  safety  of  the 
soul.  The  first  thought  you  have  to  think  of,  the  first  duty  you 
have  to  discharge,  is  the  duty  that  you  owe  to  the  soul.  Who 
can  calculate  this  problem,  ''What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?''  Our  first  efi"ort  should 
be  to  obtain  an  answer  to  this  question.  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?  My  dear  friends,  no  man  ever  yet  set  out  to  gain  the 
world  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  soul,  and  succeeded  in  his  object. 
The  words  are,  "{/*  you  gain  the  world  ;'^  it  does  not  imply  that 
if  you  set  out  to  gain  the  world  at  such  a  cost,  you  are  sure  even- 
tually to  gain  it.  Twenty  men  set  out,  all  determined  to  be  rich, 
and  nineteen  are  strewed  like  wrecks  on  the  highway.  And  have 
you  not  found,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  man  who  set  out  de- 
termined to  provide  for  the  safety  of  his  soul  in  the  first  instance, 
has  had  other  things  added  to  him  unexpectedly,  and  in  far  greater 
abundance  than  he  could  have  anticipated? 

And  if  this  be  true,  carry  out  the  principle  in  3'Our  families. 
I  speak  to  fathers  and  mothers :  seek  first  to  make  3'our  children 
Christians,  next,  and  only  next,  to  he  gentlemen.  Send  your  chil- 
dren rather,  I  beseech  you,  to  a  school  where  they  will  be  taught 
to  pray  fervently,  than  to  a  school  where  they  will  be  taught 
to  dance  after  the  most  approved  mode  and  according  to  the 
most  elegant  movements.  Be  anxious  rather  to  make  your  chil- 
dren Christians  than  to  make  them  Churchmen,  or  Dissenters,  or 
Episcopalians,  or  Presbyterians.  Depend  upon  it  that  the  old 
Adam  will  learn  soon  enough  to  fight  about  free  church  and  in- 
dependency, and  episcopacy,  and  presbytery,  and  about  all  the 
''isms"  to  be  found  in  the  catalogue  of  man;  but  the  last  thing 
and  the  most  diflicult  thing  that  they  will  learn  is  to  care  about 
their  souls,  or  to  think  about  God.  Teach  your  children  that  pulse 
and  plain  water,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  is  sweeter  and  better 


52  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

and  more  nntritive  than  the  king's  meat  and  the  king's  wine 
without  it. 

In  the  next  place  I  would  say,  in  fixing  to  attend  on  a  ministry, 
carry  out  the  same  principle;  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
his  righteousness,  and  all  other  things  will  be  added  unto  you. 
Do  not  attach  the  greatest  importance  to  the  section  of  the 
church ;  but  you  who  are  an  Independent,  prefer  Christian  and 
scriptural  doctrine  with  episcopac}^,  rather  than  unscriptural  doc- 
trine with  independency;  and  you  who  are  an  Episcopalian,  prefer 
to  hear  the  gospel  from  the  minister  of  an  Independent  denomina- 
tion rather  than  to  hear  Puseyism  and  Popery  from  a  bishop  of 
your  own  church.  And  so  with  respect  to  the  Scotch  Church — I  pre- 
fer it,  and  think  it  the  best  in  existence ;  and  why  should  I  not  ? 
I  was  baptized  in  it,  I  have  studied  it,  I  know  it,  I  love  it; 
but  if  there  were  deadly  error  preached  in  the  parish  church 
I  was  born  by,  and  if  the  gospel  was  preached  by  a  poor 
Methodist  local  preacher  in  a  neighbouring  barn,  I  would  go 
and  hear  the  poor  Methodist  preacher,  and  leave  the  parish 
minister  with  empty  pews.  When  the  question  is,  shall  it  be 
bread  or  poison?  by  all  means  give  me  good  bread  in  a  silver 
basket;  but  rather  give  me  good  bread  on  a  wooden  trencher 
than  poison  in  a  golden  basket.  Take  other  things  in  their 
place,  other  things  think  about,  other  things  prefer,  but  this  you 
must  have;  and  common  sense,  which  is  nearest  to  the  highest 
Christianity,  will  insist  upon  mking  this  the  first  and  the  para- 
mount consideration. 

In  the  next  place,  carry  out  this  principle  in  fixing  upon  a  house 
to  dwell  in.  In  this  world  we  are  constantly  changing.  Let  me 
tell  those  who  have  mansions  and  those  who  have  cottages — those 
who  have  palaces  and  those  who  have  cellars,  that  they  are  all 
equally  precarious  in  their  tenure,  for  there  are  two  ways  to  get 
rid  of  them :  either  the  inhabitant  will  be  removed  from  the  house, 
or  the  house  will  be  removed  from  the  inhabitant.  There  are  two 
ways  of  separating  the  one  from  the  other ;  we  are  but  dwellers  in 
tents ;  strangers  and  pilgrims,  as  all  our  fathers  were;  and  therefore, 
if  you  are  changing  your  house,  do  not,  like  Lot,  prefer  the  well- 
watered  plain,  just  within  range  of  the  din  and  the  noise  of  Sodom, 
baskino-  in  its  sunshine,  listening  to  its  noise,  as  to  the  sweetest 


TRUE   PRINCIPLE  IS    TRUE    EXPEDIENCY.  53 

and  best  music  ;  but  rather  prefer  a  much  smaller  house,  with  a 
less  beautiful  lawn,  and  less  spacious  grounds,  and.  far  fewer  con- 
veniences, that  basks  in  the  sunshine  of  the  countenance  of  God, 
and  that  gives  jou  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  gospel  of  the 
blessed  Jesus.  Prefer  a  house  near  to  a  pious  and  evangelical 
minister,  rather  than  a  house  near  to  the  hall  of  a  noble  or  the 
palace  of  a  king.  Be  content  with  bread — living  bread — where 
you  can  know  Grod,  rather  than  the  king's  meat  and  royal  wine 
without  that  knowledge. 

And  so,  my  dear  friends,  I  would  urge  you  to  carry  out  the 
same  principle  in  entering  upon  any  business.  Do  not  select  a  bu- 
siness inconsistent  with  the  exercise  of  your  Christian  duties,  or  in 
which  you  must  sacrifice  your  Christian  principles  in  order  to  prac- 
tise what  it  requires.  Only  let  me  add,  do  not  be  rash  in  saying, 
I  cannot  live  as  a  Christian  here,  and  therefore  I  will  abandon  it. 
That  is  very  often  an  excuse  for  self-indulgence.  It  is  very 
often  an  excuse  for  not  determining  to  be  firm  and  ftiithful.  It  is 
supposing  that  you  can  do  your  duty  best  on  the  soft  lawn,  and  not 
on  the  hard  and  tented  battle-field.  "Wherever  Providence  has 
placed  you,  make  the  experiment  if  you  can  faithfully  serve  God 
there.  And  if  you  find  that  you  cannot  serve  God,  then  you  have 
no  alternative.  If  you  are  about  to  choose  a  business,  let  it  be  one 
in  which  you  can  secure  your  Sabbaths.  Give  not  up  your  Sab- 
baths; do  not  sacrifice  them.  It  is  not  rich  men  who  will  feel 
the  loss  of  such  an  institution,  but  the  poor.  Depend  upon  it, 
that  the  working  man  will  get  no  more  wages  for  his  seven  days' 
work  than  he  now  gets  for  six.  It  is  a  maxim  of  political  economy, 
which  is  worth  repeating  from  the  pulpit,  that  the  amount  of 
wages  is  always  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  labour.  Where 
there  are  few  labourers  and  much  to  be  done,  there  wages  will  be 
high  J  where  there  are  many  labourers  and  less  to  be  done,  there 
wages  will  be  low.  Now  if  you  add  a  seventh  day  over  all  the 
kingdom  to  the  six  working  days  of  the  week,  you  bring  a  seventh 
part  more  of  all  the  labourers  in  the  land  into  the  labour  market, 
and  wages  will  proportionately  decrease.  Ilely  upon  it,  that  by 
sacrificing  your  Sabbaths  you  will  be  dead  losers  even  in  a  tem- 
poral point  of  view. 

Thcrefjrc,  my  dear  friends,  stand   fast  for  your  privileges; 

5« 


54  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

^^  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy/'  It  is  the  poor 
man's  privilege;  the  Sabbath  is  emphatically  the  poor  man's  day; 
and  nothing  is  to  me  more  beautiful  than  this  thought,  that  there 
is  a  day  that  comes  round  among  the  days  of  the  week,  in  which 
the  poorest  man  and  the  richest  man  may  meet  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  say,  "  We  are  peers ;  though  equally  sinners  by  nature,  we 
are  equally  saints  by  grace ;"  and  in  this  world,  where  men  have 
divided  so  much  and  monopolized  so  much,  there  is  still  a  place 
where  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  mightiest  noble  and  the  meanest 
peasant,  can  meet  together  and  feel  that  "  the  Lord  is  the  maker 
of  them  all."  I  advocate  the  maintenance  of  the  Sabbath  on 
these  low  grounds ;  but  I  advocate  it  also  on  higher  grounds  than 
these,  but  which  I  need  not  now  repeat,  I  say  again,  therefore, 
my  dear  friends,  never  give  up  your  Sabbaths.  Labour,  as  many 
young  men  do  labour,  to  gain  more  time  on  your  week-day  even- 
ings for  the  cultivation  of  your  minds,  and  for  the  study  of  all 
that  can  adorn,  and  beautify,  and  perfect  them,  as  Christians  and 
heirs  of  immortality;  but  never,  never  surrender  this  greatest  of 
privileges — the  Sabbath. 

And  lastly,  I  would  say,  in  your  homes  '^  seek  first  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  other  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you,"  Wherever  there  is  a  fireside,  let  there  be  an 
altar ;  seek  the  blessing  of  Grod  in  your  homes,  and  depend  upon 
it  that  blessing  will  not  be  withheld  from  you.  One  reason  why 
there  are  so  many  sad  homes  is  just  this,  that  there  are  so  many 
homes  in  which  there  are  no  altars.  One  reason  why  there  are 
so  many  undutiful  children  is,  that  no  blessing  has  been  asked  by 
the  parents  on  behalf  of  the  children.  Seek,  therefore,  in  your 
homes,  "  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all 
other  things  will  be  added  unto  you," 

In  short,  Daniel  found,  what  every  true  Christian  has  found; 
that  Christian  principle  is  the  highest  expediency. 


55 


LECTURE   V. 

BABYLON,    THE    GOLDEN    HEAD. 

"Thou,  0  king,  art  a  king  of  kings :  for  the  God  of  heaven  hath  given  thee 
a  kingdom,  power,  and  strength,  and  glory.  And  wheresoever  the  children  of 
men  dwell,  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he  given 
into  thine  hand,  and  hath  made  thee  ruler  over  them  aU.  Thou  art  this  head 
of  gold."— Daniel  ii.  37,  3S. 

This  chapter  records  a  prophecy  revealed  to  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  through  him,  as  the  mere  organ  of  utterance,  to  us,  of  what 
shall  be  the  succession  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  till  the  day 
when  the  great  stone,  the  rock  that  is  laid  in  Zion,  shall  grind 
them  to  powder,  and  there  shall  rise  and  flourish  on  their  ruins 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign 
for  ever  and  ever.  This  great  image  is  meant  to  be  a  standing 
symbol,  representative,  as  Daniel  explains  it,  of  four  successions 
of  supreme  and  sovereign  kingdoms,  beginning  in  the  days  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.  History  shows  that  there  have  been  just  four 
universal  kingdoms  in  the  world,  and  only  four ;  those  verj^  four 
which  were  clearly  foreshadowed  to  the  king,  and  explained  by 
Daniel  as  the  interpretation  of  the  dream.  The  first  supreme 
kingdom  without  a  rival,  was  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  or  sym- 
bolically the  Head  of  Grold ;  the  second  kingdom  was  the  Medo- 
Persian,  which  I  shall  hereafter  more  fully  explain.  The  third 
kingdom  was  the  Macedonian,  which  every  one  knows  to  have 
been  for  a  season  universal.  The  fourth  kingdom  was  divided 
into  ten  kingdoms,  as  the  two  feet  of  the  image  were  divided  into 
ten  toes.  These  ten  kingdoms,  which  I  shall  also  show  to  have 
actually  existed,  and  the  prediction  thus  to  have  been  fulfilled, 
have  tried  to  mingle,  one  or  other  having  set  up  to  absorb  the  rest 
and  be  supreme,  and  all,  in  every  instance,  have  failed.  Since  the 
Roman  empire  was  divided  into  ten  kingdoms,  Charlemagne  has 
swept  the  world,  and  retired  unsuccessful  from  the  eff'ort  to  make 


56  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

a  universal  sovereignty.  After  liim,  and  others  who  might  be 
named,  Napoleon  visited  every  land,  and  subjected  almost  every 
country  in  Europe  :  but  just  as  it  seemed  to  be  within  his  reach 
to  lord  it  over  all  the  world,  and  to  construct  out  of  the  ten  king- 
doms a  new  and  universal  sovereignty,  the  snow  fell  softly  and 
beautifully  from  heaven,  as  the  light  upon  an  infant's  eye ;  but 
those  same  insignificant  snow-flakes  formed  themselves  into  ram- 
parts that  checked  his  troops,  and  ultimately  made  shrouds  and 
graves  for  all  his  chivalry.  So  that  we  have  already,  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  past,  clear  evidence  that  what  Daniel  here  describes  as 
a  dream,  and  gives  the  interpretation  of,  was  a  prophecy  of  that 
which  has  actually  occurred,  so  that  history  in  its  chapters  sounds 
the  echo  of  truth  in  the  prophecies  of  Clod. 

In  looking  at  the  introduction  to  this  vision,  and  the  failure  of 
the  magi  to  explain  it,  you  will  notice  the  unreasonable  require- 
ment of  the  king.  He  substantially  said,  ''I  shall  not  be  satisfied 
by  you  astrologers  giving  me  an  interpretation  of  my  dream ;  you 
must  state  what  the  dream  itself  was,  and  I  shall  thereby  have 
proof — for  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  a  skeptic  even  in  his  own  reli- 
gion— I  shall  have  proof  by  your  thus  telling  me  the  nature  of 
my  dream,  that  you  have  a  divine  authority  adequate  to  expound 
and  unfold  the  substance  of  that  dream. '^  The  magicians  and 
astrologers  made  every  excuse  and  apology :  first,  that  the  thing 
was  uncommon ;  and  secondly,  that  no  king  or  dreamer  had  ever 
made  such  a  requirement  before,  and  that  no  wise  man,  or  magi- 
cian, or  astrologer,  had  even  explained  such  a  thing  before.  At 
this,  the  king  became  furious,  and,  like  all  men  who  have  great 
power  as  well  as  ungovernable  passions,  he  orders  them  to  be 
slain.  That  king  is  but  a  specimen  of  what  unsanctified  man 
becomes  when  he  has  too  great  power.  It  is  well  that  man  in 
this  world  should  not  have  absolute  power.  It  is  too  awful  a 
prerogative  for  him  to  possess  in  this  dispensation ;  it  never  has 
been  wielded  rightly,  and  it  never  will  be  until  man  is  made  a 
new  creature,  and  all  things  are  become  new.  At  present  we 
need  restraint,  modifications,  and  limitations — constitutional  laws 
that  counterbalance  the  excessive  weight  of  democracy  on  the  one 
hand,  and  check  the  effects  of  despotism  in  its  fury  on  the  other, 
so  that  the  machinery  of  government  may  best  answer  its  ends. 


BABYLON,  TFIE    GOLDEN   HEAD.  57 

Daniel,  hearing  of  the  king's  decree,  went  into  the  royal  presence 
and  begged  for  a  little  timp.  And  why  did  Daniel  ask  time  ?  the 
answer  is  given  in  the  subsequent  verse  :  he  asked  time  in  order 
that  he  might  go  and  speak  to  God,  and  implore  on  bended  knee 
his  help,  instruction,  and  guidance.  And  accordingly,  we  find 
him,  after  making  his  request  to  Arioch,  '^  making  the  thing 
known  to  his  companions,  that  they  would  desire  mercies  of  the 
God  of  heaven  concerning  this  secret ;  that  Daniel  and  his  fellows 
should  not  perish  with  the  rest  of  the  wise  men  of  Babylon.''  If 
we  are  in  difficulty,  the  right  resource  is  prayer.  There  is  no 
question  that  God  does  answer  prayer.  He  may  not  answer  it  in 
the  precise  way  which  we  in  our  ignorance  prescribe,  but  he  will 
answer  it  in  the  way  that  is  most  for  his  glory  and  our  good. 
Whatever  be  the  nature  of  our  trial,  we  are  warranted  in  ap- 
proaching God,  and  beseeching  him  to  remove  it;  whatever  be 
the  thorn  that  is  most  poignant,  we  are  warranted  in  asking  God 
to  extract  it.  It  is  no  just  objection  to  this,  to  say,  we  may  be 
asking  what  is  not  good  for  us ;  it  is  not  our  province  to  deter- 
mine this,  but  God's.  It  is  our  part  to  unbosom  the  wants  of 
our  hearts,  and  offer  up  the  honest  petitions  of  our  souls,  and  to 
rest  confident  in  this,  that  God  will  not  give  what  would  prove 
our  present  or  our  eternal  ruin. 

When  Daniel  had  prayed  to  God  and  had  received  an  answer  to 
his  prayers,  what  did  he  next  do  ?  He  instantly  returned  to  thank 
God.  The  man  who  prays  sincerely  in  the  morning  will  praise  as 
sincerely  at  night.  "  Is  any  man  afflicted  ?  let  him  pray.  Is  any 
merry?  let  him  sing  psalms."  v  It  is  wrong  to  be  Christians  when 
we  are  in  want  of  any  thing,  and  to  be  atheists  when  we  have  ob- 
tained itj  Let  us  ask  as  Christians,  and  praise  as  Christians.  Let 
us  appeal  to  God  for  what  we  want ;  and  then  let  us  give  the 
glory  to  God  when  we  have  obtained  what  we  asked. 

Daniel  then  goes  to  the  king,  and  announces  to  him  this  groat 
ftict,  that  "  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  that  revealeth  secrets."  And 
with  beautiful  humility  he  adds,  "  It  is  not  because  of  the  wisdom 
that  is  in  me,  that  I  am  able  to  make  known  this  secret,  but  it  is 
for  the  glory  of  Him  who  has  taught  me,  and  who  is  willing  to  do 
good  to  thee." 

He  next  proceeds  to  explain  to  the  king  what  he  had  seen  in 


58  PROniETIC  STUDIES. 

his  vision — an  image  whicli  is  here  described.  He  then  explains 
what  that  image  represented.  In  this  Icclnre  I  shall  only  be  able 
to  call  your  attention  to  '^  the  head  of  gold.'^  The  text,  therefore, 
on  which  I  shall  specially  speak  in  this  Lecture  is,  (verses  37, 
38,)  "  Thou,  0  king,  art  a  king  of  kings  :  for  the  God  of  heaven 
hath  given  thee  a  kingdom,  power,  and  strength,  and  glory.  And 
wheresoever  the  children  of  men  dwell,  the  beasts  of  the  field  and 
the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he  given  into  thine  hand,  and  hath 
made  thee  ruler  over  them  all.  Thou  art  this  head  of  gold/' 
plainly  meaning,  ^'  thy  kingdom  or  thy  state  is  so.'' 

The  church  of  God  was  now  captive  in  Babylon.  How  deeply 
distressed  was  the  whole  of  Israel  at  this  era  !  The  glory  had 
departed  from  between  the  cherubim ;  the  sons  and  the  daughters 
of  Judah  Avere  captives  beside  the  Euphrates;  the  sacred  vessels 
of  the  sanctuary  were  now  the  property  of  the  spoiler.  Their 
grand  temple  was  in  ruins;  and  '^  Ichabod,  Ichabod,"  "The  glory 
is  departed,"  was  the  sad  inscription  too  legible  to  the  heart  of 
every  captive  in  Babylon.  But  in  this  state  of  outward  depres- 
sion you  will  notice  how  God  compensated  for  all  external  disad- 
vantages by  special  manifestations  of  his  wisdom  and  his  power. 
He  showed  them  that  he  was  not  dependent  upon  outward  things; 
that  when  all  ordinances  have  passed  away,  the  Lord  of  the  ordi- 
nance can  take  their  jDlace,  and  more  than  compensate  for  their 
absence.  Is  it  not  still  often  felt  in  the  experience  of  the  people 
of  God,  that  when  the  outward  fabric  is  dissolved,  the  inward 
glory,  that  seemed  restricted  to  its  walls,  only  breaks  forth  with 
greater  splendour,  and  spreads  throughout  the  world  with  greater 
speed  ?  Was  it  not  to  the  church  in  the  wilderness  ;  to  the  two 
witnesses  prophesying  in  sackcloth ;  to  the  woman  who  was  ob- 
liged to  flee  from  the  persecuting  power  of  the  Roman  apostasy, 
that  God  revealed  most  clearly  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and  made 
known  with  the  greatest  power  the  manifestations  of  his  mind  and 
will?  Often,  when  the  visible  church  is  in  ruins,  does  God  con- 
struct upon  its  wreck  a  yet  more  glorious  fane — a  house  not  made 
with  hands — more  beautiful  than  the  temples  of  Balbec,  than  the 
cathedrals  of  Europe,  more  splendid  than  the  theatres  of  Ionia, 
more  magnificent  than  the  temple  of  Solomon  in  all  its  glory.  It 
is  often  when  the  church  has  no  mitre  on  her  head,  no  Urim  and 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  59 

Thummim  upon  her  breast,  that  you  may  read  most  legibly  the 
bright  inscription  on  her  brow,  ^'  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
for  they  shall  see  Grod."  The  breaking  of  the  outward  crutch 
makes  her  lean  more  simply  upon  God.  The  departure  of  the 
beautiful  sign  makes  her  think  more  of  the  inner  and  the  precious 
substance.  You  will  see,  too,  in  conformity  with  this  idea,  how 
God  has  ever  given  the  greatest  manifestations  of  his  mind  to  suf- 
ferers. To  a  captive  beside  the  banks  of  the  Ulai  and  the  Hid- 
dekel,  i.  e.  to  Daniel,  God  made  known  the  greatest  portions  of  his 
mind  and  will,  as  these  were  to  be  unfolded  in  future  ages.  To 
an  exile  and  a  prisoner,  amid  the  dreary  solitudes  of  Patmos,  i.  e. 
to  John,  God  revealed  that  grand  procession  of  saints,  and  mar- 
tyrs, and  kings,  and  dynasties,  and  heroes,  and  conquerors,  the 
history  of  which  is  recorded  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  the  fulfilment 
of  which  is  contained  in  every  chapter  of  human  history.  To  the 
men  who  felt  they  had  nothing  upon  earth,  did  God  make  knoAvn 
most  plainly  how  much  they  had  in  heaven.  To  the  eye  that  was 
shut  upon  all  the  splendours  of  time,  did  God  disclose  in  the 
greatest  fulness  the  glories  of  eternity.  And  just  as  God  made 
known  most  of  his  mind  to  those  who  were  most  separate  from 
the  world,  he  will  also  discover  most  of  the  meaning  of  his  word 
to  those  who  are  least  bound  up  with  the  cares,  the  anxieties,  the 
pomps,  and  the  vanities  of  this  present  life. 

The  first  thing  that  occurred,  when  God  was  about  to  reveal  to 
Daniel  his  purpose,  was  the  silencing  of  the  wisdom  of  man. 
These  magicians  owned  their  ignorance  before  God  revealed  his 
wisdom.  It  is  thus  that  God  shows  the  wisdom  of  man  to  be 
folly,  in  order  that  the  wise  man  may  not  glory  in  wisdom ;  and 
the  strength  of  man  to  be  but  weakness,  in  order  that  the  strong 
man  may  not  glorify  in  his  strength.  In  the  case  of  the  Egyp- 
tian magicians  he  showed  the  weakness  of  human  power ;  in  the 
case  of  the  Chaldean  magicians  he  taught  the  ignorance  of  human 
wisdom;  and  in  both  cases  he  led  prince  and  people  from  the 
broken  cisterns  to  the  divine  and  original  fount. 

The  four  empires,  as  I  have  already  explained,  are  the  Baby- 
lonian, the  Persian,  the  Grasco-Macedonian,  and  the  Roman  em- 
pires ;  and  the  last,  the  empire  of  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands, 
represents  the  empire  of  the  gospel. 


60  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

The  first  kingdom,  then,  here  represented  by  the  head  of  gold, 
was  that  of  Babylon.  Let  me  just  briefly  notice  what  is  said 
about  it  in  the  word  of  God,  and  in  what  respects  that  which  was 
prophesied  of  it  has  been  fulfilled.  You  will  always  perceive  that 
one  kingdom  passes  from  the  stage  the  moment  that  the  other 
comes  on.  In  other  words,  the  Persian  kingdom  was  constructed 
from  the  ruins  of  the  Babylonian ;  the  Grseco-Macedonian  was 
constructed  from  the  ruins  of  the  Persian  ;  and  the  Roman  king- 
dom rose  upon  the  ruins  of  all  that  preceded  it. 

About  612  years  B.  C,  Nebuchadnezzar  destroyed  Nineveh;  or, 
in  the  language  of  Scripture,  as  shown  to  be  true  by  the  disclo- 
sures of  Layard,  '^made  its  grave  3"  burying  in  the  deep  and  silent 
earth  all  its  grandeur,  its  pomp,  and  its  splendour.  And  when 
Nineveh,  till  that  time  the  greatest  kingdom  upon  earth,  was  thus 
entombed  in  its  grave,  Babylon  ascended  the  throne,  and  swayed 
the  sceptre  over  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  The  walls  of  the 
city  of  Babylon,  as  we  read  not  only  in  Scripture  but  in  Xeno- 
phon,  the  beautiful  and  classic  Greek  historian,  were  of  gigantic 
size,  measuring  sixty  miles  in  circumference ;  and  the  breadth  of 
these  walls,  which  were  very  solid,  being  built  of  brick  cemented 
with  bitumen,  a  substance  produced  upon  the  soil,  were  capable  of 
allowing  six  chariots,  each  with  two  horses,  to  drive  abreast  upon 
them.  The  city  had  one  hundred  gates  of  solid  brass.  The 
temple  of  Bel,  or  of  Belus,  as  it  is  called  by  classic  writers,  had 
a  circumference  of  half  a  mile,  and  was  upward  of  one  thousand 
feet  in  height,  or  nearly  three  times  the  height  of  St.  Paul's  cathe- 
dral. The  fertility  of  the  whole  region  of  Chaldea,  watered  by 
the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates,  was  so  great  that  classical  histo- 
rians, Herodotus  and  Strabo,  tell  us  that  it  produced  two  hundred- 
fold ;  i.  e.  that  one  seed  of  corn,  if  I  may  use  this  mode  of  illus- 
tration, produced  in  the  ear  two  hundred  seeds;  a  degree  of 
fertility  unrivalled  in  any  modern  country.  This  I  state  to  justify 
the  description  of  the  prophet,  when  he  calls  Babylon  '^  the  ex- 
cellency of  Chaldea,"  and  literally,  "  the  glory  of  kingdoms.'' 
Again,  what  is  the  sign  of  it  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream?  "  The 
head  of  gold;"  in  its  natural  and  physical  properties  the  most 
valuable  of  the  four  metals. 

In  order  to  show  you  the  descriptions  given  of  it  by  other  pro- 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  61 

pliets  of  Grod,  I  refer  to  tlie  prophet  JercmiaL,  who  thus  speaks 
of  it  in  chap,  xxvii.  5-8  :  "  I  have  made  the  earth,  the  man,  and 
the  beast  that  are  upon  the  ground,  by  my  great  power  and  by 
my  outstretched  arm,  and  have  given  it  unto  whom  it  seemed 
meet  unto  me.  And  now  have  I  given  all  these  lands  into  the 
hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar  the  king  of  Babylon,  my  servant ;  and 
the  beast  of  the  field  have  I  given  him  also  to  serve  him.  And 
all  nations  shall  serve  him,  and  his  son,  and  his  son's  son,  until 
the  very  time  of  his  land  come  :  and  then  many  nations  and  great 
kings  shall  serve  themselves  of  him.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  the  nation  and  kingdom  which  will  not  serve  the  same  Nebu- 
chadnezzar the  king  of  Babylon,  and  that  will  not  put  their  neck 
under  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  that  nation  will  I  punish, 
saith  the  Lord,  with  the  sword,  and  with  the  famine,  and  with 
the  pestilence,  until  I  have  consumed  them  by  his  hand.'^  You 
have  in  these  words  the  investiture  of  the  king  of  Babylon  with 
universal  sovereignty :  in  other  words,  ^'  the  empire  of  the  head 
of  gold,"  in  all  its  magnificence;  characterized  by  unrivalled 
fertility,  wielding  a  dominion  superior  to  that  of  the  nations 
around,  with  no  limits  but  the  will  and  the  power  of  the  monarch. 
We  then  find  that  the  head  of  gold  passes  away,  to  give  place  to 
an  empire  rising  from  its  ruins,  only  less  magnificent  than  the 
former.  And  in  order  to  show  how  truly  history  is  the  echo  of 
prophecy,  I  will  quote  the  predictions  of  the  downfall  of  Babylon, 
and  then  add  the  facts  of  its  ruin,  as  those  facts  are  recorded  by 
Xenophon,  Strabo,  and  Herodotus,  the  heathen  historians. 

I  will  give,  I  say,  first  of  all  the  predictions  of  God,  as  these 
were  uttered  many  years  before  its  fall,  and  then  I  will  read  the 
facts  recorded  in  history  by  impartial  writers,  who  did  not  even 
know  of  the  prophecy,  and  who  could  not  have  the  least  design 
or  intention  of  showing  its  fulfilment.  The  first  passage  to  which 
I  refer  is  Jer.  xxv.  11,  12,  and  this  is  a  summary  of  all  that 
follows,  where  God  says,  "  This  whole  land  shall  be  a  desolation, 
and  an  astonishment ;  and  these  nations  shall  serve  the  king  of 
Babylon  seventy  years."  You  recollect  I  showed  you  the  pro- 
phecy that  all  nations  should  serve  him,  and  here  you  read  what 
is  to  follow,  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  seventy  years  are 
accomplished,  that  I  will  punish  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  that 


62  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

natioDj  saith  the  Lord,  for  their  iniquity,  and  the  land  of  the 
Chaldeans,  and  will  make  it  perpetual  desolations."  The  captivity 
of  the  Jews  in  Babylon  was  to  last  seventy  years  :  and  just  while 
their  punishment  lasted,  the  prosperity  of  Babylon  was  to  last, 
and  no  longer.  I  will  now  direct  your  attention  to  Isaiah  xiii., 
^^  The  burden  of  Babylon,  which  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amos  did  see;" 
and  I  will  read  such  verses  only  as  apply  immediately  to  the 
subject  before  us.  At  verse  4 — and  I  will  thank  you  to  notice 
the  very  words  used  by  the  prophet,  because  the  evidence  of  the 
inspiration  of  these  prophets  will  be  rendered  the  more  plain  by 
your  observing  how  minutely  each  prediction  has  been  fulfilled, — 
"  The  noise  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains,  like  as  of  a  great 
people ;  a  tumultuous  noise  of  the  kingdoms  of  nations  gathered 
together :  the  Lord  of  hosts  mustereth  the  host  of  the  battle. 
They  come  from  a  far  country,  from  the  end  of  heaven,  even  the 
Lord,  and  the  weapons  of  his  indignation,  to  destroy  the  whole 
land.  Howl  ye ;  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand ;  it  shall 
come  as  a  destruction  from  the  Almighty.  Therefore  shall  all 
hands  be  faint,  and  every  man's  heart  shall  melt.  And  they 
shall  be  afraid  :  pangs  and  sorrows  shall  take  hold  of  them ;  they 
shall  be  in  pain  as  a  woman  that  travaileth  :  they  shall  be  amazed 
one  at  another ;  their  faces  shall  be  as  flames.  Behold,  the  day 
of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both  with  wrath  and  fierce  anger,  to 
lay  the  land  desolate  :  and  he  shall  destroy  the  sinners  thereof 
out  of  it."  Then,  verse  17,  ^^  Behold,  I  will  stir  up  the  Medes," 
— the  very  name  of  the  nation  which  was  to  destroy  them  is 
specified — "  which  shall  not  regard  silver ;  and  as  for  gold,  they 
shall  not  delight  in  it.  Their  bows  also  shall  dash  the  young 
men  to  pieces;  and  they  shall  have  no  pity  on  the  fruit  of  the 
womb;  their  eye  shall  not  spare  children.  And  Babylon,  the' 
glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  excellency,  shall 
be  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  It  shall  never 
be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to 
generation ;"  and  the  prophecy  grows  more  specific  :  "  Neither 
shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent  there ;  neither  shall  the  shepherds 
make  their  fold  there.  But  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie 
there ;  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful  creatures  ;  and 
owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall  dance  there.     And  the 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  63 

wild  beasts  of  the  island  shall  cry  in  their  desolate  houses,  and 
dragons  in  their  pleasant  palaces :  and  her  time  is  near  to  come, 
and  her  days  shall  not  be  prolonged/^  Then  at  chap.  xiv.  4, 
^'  Thou  shalt  take  up  this  proverb  against  the  king  of  Babylon, 
and  say,  How  hath  the  oj^pressor  ceased  !  the  golden  city  ceased  I" 
Then,  (verse  11,)  ''thy  pomp  is  brought  down  to  the  grave,  and 
the  noise  of  thy  viols ',  the  worm  is  spread  under  thee,  and  the 
worms  cover  thee.''  Verse  15,  "  Yet  thou  shalt  be  brought  down 
to  hell,  to  the  sides  of  the  pit.''  Verse  19,  "Thou  art  cast  out  of 
thy  grave  like  an  abominable  branch."  Verse  22,  "  I  will  rise 
up  against  them,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  cut  off  from 
Babylon  the  name,  and  remnant,  and  son,  and  nephew,  saith  the 
Lord."  Then  chap.  xlvi.  27 — recollect  that  Grod  is  predicting 
here  the  destruction  of  Babylon,  and  the  mode  in  which  that 
destruction  should  be  effected,  though  seventy  years  and  upward 
before  any  thing  of  the  kind  had  taken  place — "  That  saith  to  the 
deep,  Be  dry,  and  I  will  dry  up  thy  river :  that  saith  of  Cyrus," 
— before  Cyrus  was  born — '^  He  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall  perform 
all  my  pleasure :  even  saying  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  built; 
and  to  the  temple.  Thy  foundation  shall  be  laid ;"  giving  a  pro- 
phecy of  the  rise  of  Jerusalem,  emerging  from  the  ruins  of 
Babylon. 

I  then  call  your  attention  to  Jer.  1. :  ''The  word  that  the  Lord 
spake  against  Babylon  and  against  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans  by 
Jeremiah  the  prophet.  Declare  ye  among  the  nations,  and 
publish,  and  set  up  a  standard ;  publish  and  conceal  not :  say, 
Babylon  is  taken,  Bel  is  confounded,  Merodach  is  broken  in 
pieces ;  her  idols  are  confounded,  her  images  are  broken  in  pieces. 
For  out  of  the  north  there  cometh  up  a  nation  against  her,  which 
shall  make  her  land  desolate,  and  none  shall  dwell  therein ;  they 
shall  remove,  they  shall  depart,  both  man  and  beast."  Again, 
verse  9,  "  For,  lo,  I  will  raise  and  cause  to  come  up  against 
Babylon  an  assembly  of  great  nations  from  the  north  country  : 
and  they  shall  set  themselves  in  array  against  her ;  from  thence 
she  shall  be  taken  :  their  arrows  shall  be  as  of  a  mighty  expert 
man  j  none  shall  return  in  vain.  And  Chaldea  shall  be  a  spoil  : 
all  that  spoil  her  shall  be  satisfied,  saith  the  Lord."  Again,  at 
verses  12,  13,  "  Your  mother  shall  be  sore  confounded ;  she  that 


Q^  rROPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

bare  you  sliall  be  asliamed  :  behold,  tlie  liindermost  of  tlie  nations 
shall  be  a  wilderness,  a  dry  land,  and  a  desert.  Because  of  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  it  shall  not  be  inhabited,  but  it  shall  be  wholly 
desolate  :  every  one  that  goeth  by  Babylon  shall  be  astonished, 
and  hiss  at  all  her  plagues/'  Again,  at  verses  15, 16,  "  Shout 
against  her  round  about :  she  hath  given  her  hand :  her  founda- 
tions are  fallen,  her  walls  are  thrown  down :  for  it  is  the  ven- 
geance of  the  Lord  :  take  vengeance  upon  her ;  as  she  hath  done, 
do  unto  her.  Cut  off  the  sower  from  Babylon,  and  him  that 
handleth  the  sickle  in  the  time  of  harvest :  for  fear  of  the 
oppressing  sword  they  shall  turn  every  one  to  his  people,  and  they 
shall  flee  every  one  to  his  own  land."  Again,  at  verses  24-26, 
'^  I  have  laid  a  snare  for  thee,  and  thou  art  also  taken,  0  Babylon, 
and  thou  wast  not  aware  :  thou  art  found,  and  also  caught,  be- 
cause thou  hast  striven  against  the  Lord.  The  Lord  hath  opened 
his  armoury,  and  hath  brought  forth  the  weapons  of  his  indigna- 
tion :  for  this  is  the  work  of  the  Lord  God  of  hosts  in  the  land 
of  the  Chaldeans.  Come  against  her  from  the  utmost  border, 
open  her  storehouses  :  cast  her  up  as  heaps,  and  destroy  her 
utterly  :  let  nothing  of  her  be  left.''  Again,  in  chap.  li.  verse  35, 
^'  The  violence  done  to  me  and  to  my  flesh  be  upon  Babylon,  shall 
the  inhabitant  of  Zion  say ;  and  my  blood  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  Chaldea,  shall  Jerusalem  say."  And  lastly,  verse  47,  "  There- 
fore, behold,  the  days  come,  that  I  will  do  judgment  upon  the 
graven  images  of  Babylon :  and  her  whole  land  shall  be  con- 
founded, and  all  her  slain  shall  fall  in  the  midst  of  her." 

Then,  once  more,  turn  to  chap.  li.  ver.  36 :  "  Therefore  thus 
saith  the  Lord ;  Behold,  I  will  plead  thy  cause,  and  take  ven- 
geance for  thee ;  and  I  will  dry  up  her  sea,  and  make  her  springs 
dry."  And  again,  ver.  37,  *'And  Babylon  shall  become  heaps," 
a  dwelling-place  for  dragons,  an  astonishment,  and  an  hissing, 
without  an  inhabitant."  And  again,  ver.  39,  "  Li  their  heat  I 
will  make  their  feasts,  and  I  will  make  them  drunken,  that  they 
may  rejoice,  and  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep,  and  not  awake,  saith  the 
Lord."  And  again,  ver.  41,  "How  is  Sheshach  taken!  and  how 
is  the  praise  of  the  whole  earth  surprised  !  How  is  Babylon  be- 
come an  astonishment  among  the  nations!"  Ver.  44,  "And  I 
will  punish  Bel  in  Babylon,  and  I  will  bring  forth  out  of  his 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  65 

mouth,  that  which  he  hath  SY/allowed  up  :  and  the  nations  shall 
not  flow  together  any  more  unto  him  :  yea,  the  wall  of  Babylon 
shall  fall/'  And  again,  ver.  46,  47;  *'  And  lest  your  heart  faint, 
and  ye  fear  for  the  rumour  that  shall  he  heard  in  the  land ;  a 
rumour  shall  both  come  one  year,  and  after  that  in  another  year 
shall  come  a  rumour,  and  violence  in  the  land,  ruler  against  ruler. 
Therefore,  behold,  the  days  come,  that  I  will  do  judgment  upon 
the  graven  images  of  Babylon  :  and  her  whole  land  shall  be  con- 
founded, and  all  her  slain  shall  fall  in  the  midst  of  her/' 

I  have  thus  read  the  leading  parts  of  that  great  burden  of  pro- 
phecy against  Babylon.  I  now  quote  in  evidence  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  these,  the  prophecies  of  God,  the  dispassionate  testimony 
of  the  heathen  historians :  and  I  shall  then  give  you  an  account 
not  only  of  the  rise,  as  I  have  already  briefly  done,  but  also  of 
the  fall  of  the  head  of  gold,  previous  to  the  silver  empire  taking 
its  place,  and  its  order  in  succession  onward  to  the  end. 

First,  then,  in  these  prophecies,  Cyrus  is  specified  as  the  gene- 
ral who  was  to  march  his  forces  against  Babylon.  Xenophon 
directly  states  that  such  was  the  fact.  Babylon,  trusting  in  its 
gigantic  walls,  and  in  its  provisions  for  twenty  years,  adequate  to 
maintain  it  in  case  of  its  being  besieged,  instead  of  preparing  to 
repel  the  invading  army,  gave  itself,  its  whole  population,  from 
the  prince  upon  the  throne  down  to  the  meanest  of  his  subjects, 
to  debauchery,  riot,  profligacy,  and  drunkenness.  In  the  next 
place,  Cyrus,  after  he  had  come  in  array  against  Babylon,  besieged 
it  for  years  without  success,  and  at  last  fell  upon  the  expedient 
of  digging  trenches  round  the  walls  of  Babylon,  ostensibly  for 
blockade,  but  really  to  divert  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  from 
their  accustomed  course,  and  leave  in  the  empty  channel  a  path- 
way for  his  soldiers  to  march  into  the  city.  It  was,  as  I  have  de- 
scribed, surrounded  by  vast  walls;  but  the  river  Euphrates  rolled 
through  the  midst  of  it.  There  was  therefore  an  opening  thus 
formed  through  the  centre  of  the  city;  only  there  were  walls  upon 
each  side,  or  on  each  bank  of  the  river,  with  gates  to  each  street 
leading  down  to  it;  and  the  plan  of  Cyrus  was  therefore  to  divert 
the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  into  the  trenches  he  had  dug,  and  to 
make  the  dry  central  channel  a  road  for  his  troops  to  march  down 
in  order  to  gain  possession  of  the  city.     Herodotus,  the  fiithcr 

6^;j 


66  PROrilETIC   STUDIES. 

of  historians,  relates  that,  even  after  having  marched  along  the 
bed  of  the  river,  the  obstacles  to  his  entrance  were  just  as  great 
as  elsewhere ;  for  there  were  gates  to  each  street  leading  to  the 
banks  of  the  river;  and  if  these  had  been  secured,  the  obstruc- 
tion to  the  entrance  of  Cyrus  would  have  been  complete.  But 
there  was  a  prophecy — part  of  which  I  read  to  you — that  these 
gates  should  not  be  shut;  and  the  Babylonians,  not  suspecting 
the  stratagem  of  Cyrus  in  diverting  the  waters  of  the  river,  left 
their  gates  open,  as  if  in  conscious  possession  of  impregnable 
security ;  when  part  of  the  army,  therefore,  entered  at  one  side 
of  the  city,  marching  up  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  another  part 
of  his  troops  at  the  other  side  of  the  city,  marching  down  the 
bed  of  the  river,  they  found  each  of  these  gates  open,  which 
would  not  have  been  the  case  had  not  the  people  been  indulging 
in  feasting  and  drunkenness;  the  troops  therefore  entered  by 
every  gate;  and  before  the  Babylonians  were  aware  that  the 
enemy  was  so  near  at  hand,  their  great  and  impregnable  capital 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  next  empire,  the  empire  of  the  Persians. 

We  notice  another  minute  point  that  was  singularly  fulfilled. 
It  was  predicted  that  the  enemy  should  come  upon  them  unawares, 
and  that  "  one  post  should  run  to  meet  another  in  the  midst  of 
the  siege."  Now,  that  such  was  literally  the  fact  is  recorded  by 
Herodotus,  for  he  says  that  those  at  one  end  of  the  city  were  in 
the  hands  of  Cyrus  before  those  at  the  other  end  of  the  city  were 
aware  of  his  attack,  and  before  they  had  time  to  give  the  alarm ; 
thus  fulfilling  the  prediction  of  the  prophet,  that  post  should  run 
to  post,  and  watchman  to  watchman,  to  give  the  awful  and  start- 
ling alarm  that  the  forces  of  Cyrus  were  upon  them. 

Then  it  is  predicted  by  the  prophet,  that  "they  that  were 
drunken  should  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep;''  and  that  "the  two- 
leaved  gates  should  be  thrown  open.''  It  is  stated  by  the  histo-" 
rian  that  the  monarch  was  indulging  in  a  feast,  and  was  intoxi- 
cated with  wine,  surrounded  by  all  his  princes,  nobles,  and  cour- 
tiers, at  the  very  moment  when  the  city  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  Persian  army;  and  hearing  a  noise  outside  the  palace,  he 
insisted  on  knowing  what  it  was;  and  when  some  of  the  chief 
princes  rushed  to  the  gates  of  the  palace  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
cause,  and  threw  them  open  for  that  purpose,  they  thus  fulfilled 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  67 

the  propliecj — the  troops  of  Cyrus  instantly  rushed  in,  and  Bel- 
shazzar  and  his  princes  were  slaughtered  in  the  midst  of  their 
festival :  "  the  drunken  slept  a  perpetual  sleep/^  Thus  you  have 
every  prediction  that  God  gave  by  the  mouth  of  Isaiah  and  Jere- 
miah fulfilled  to  the  very  letter :  and  that  fulfilment  is  recorded 
by  the  dispassionate  pens  of  the  historians  of  ancient  Greece. 

I  shall  now  quote  a  few  short  extracts  from  the  works  of  mo- 
dern travellers,  in  order  to  show  how  complete  the  ruin  of  Babylon 
has  been,  and  how  minutely  each  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled. 
For  these  last  I  am  mainly  indebted  to  Dr.  Keith's  useful  work 
on  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Porter,  in  his  travels,  states  that 
^^  mounds  of  temples  and  palaces  were  everywhere  visible ;"  "  a 
vast  succession  of  mounds  of  ruins  is  all  that  now  remains  of  Ba- 
bylon.'' What  Porter  saw  when  he  visited  the  spot  had  been 
foretold  of  God,  when  he  prophesied  that  nothing  should  be  left. 
Richards,  when  he  visited  it,  found  that  "  vast  heaps  constitute 
all  that  now  remains  of  ancient  Babylon ;  there  are  no  inhabit- 
ants." God  had  declared,  "  It  shall  never  be  inhabited."  Kep- 
pel,  another  traveller,  who  visited  the  same  spot,  says,  "  Babylon 
is  spurned  by  the  heel  of  the  Ottoman,  the  Israelite,  and  the  sons 
of  Ishmael."  God  had  said  beforehand,  ^'The  Arab  shall  not  pitch 
his  tent  there."  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  the  Arabs 
are  a  nomadic  race,  wanderers  that  are  found  in  almost  every 
place  where  they  can  find  temporary  shelter  or  provender  for 
their  cattle :  and  Captain  Mignon  relates,  that  when  he  reached 
the  spot,  accompanied  by  six  Arabs,  he  could  not  induce  them  to 
remain  all  night  among  the  ruins,  because,  they  alleged,  the  place 
was  haunted.  Buckingham,  another  traveller,  says,  ''All  the 
people  of  the  country  assert  that  it  is  dangerous  to  approach  the 
mounds  of  Babylon  on  account  of  the  multitude  of  evil  spirits 
that  dwell  among  them."  Man's  excuse  may  arise  from  super- 
stition ;  but  the  result  is,  the  accomplishment  of  the  ancient  pro- 
phecy— ''  The  Arab  shall  not  pitch  his  tent  there." 

We  have  thus  seen,  then,  the  rise,  the  magnificence,  and  the 
fall  of  Babylon ;  and  in  it  we  have  seen  God's  word  completely 
fulfilled.  God's  word  is  more- powerful  than  princes;  more  en- 
during than  dynasties  :  it  moves  softly  and  silently,  yet  surely, 
to  victory;  turning  obstacles  into  impulses,  and  obstructions  into  , 


68  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

facilities;  until  it  sliall  appear  enthroned  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world,  and  become  the  glory  and  the  praise  of 
the  ransomed  people  of  God. 

AYe  may  here  observe  how  transient  is  human  greatness !  The 
great  walls  of  Babylon,  on  which,  as  we  read,  six  chariots  could 
ride  abreast,  are  no  more.  Its  magnificent  temple,  which  caught 
the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  and  reflected  the  last  beams  of  the 
setting  sun — the  palace  in  which  the  choicest  wines  were  drunk, 
and  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  sanctuary  were  profaned — are  gone ; 
the  golden  head  is  buried  in  the  dust;  the  hum  of  its  mighty 
population  is  silenced.  The  Arab  ventures  not  to  pitch  his  tent 
there ;  and  the  owl,  hooting  amid  the  broken  ruins,  seems  to  attest 
how  perishable  is  all  that  man  calls  great ! — how  lasting  is  all  that 
God  pronounces  true ! 

The  duration  of  Babylon's  power,  you  notice,  in  the  next  place, 
was  specified  to  be  seventy  years.  It  was  destined  to  last  only 
till  it  had  accomplished  God's  purposes.  The  kingdom  is  ours ; 
and  its  duration  we  fancy  that  we  are  able  to  control.  It  is  not 
so.  We  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  the  times  and  the  seasons 
are  all  specified  by  him.  The  king  of  Babylon  thought  he  had 
raised  a  great  empire  for  his  glory:  in  reality,  he  had  built  a 
school-house  in  which  God  was  the  teacher;  a  prison-house  in 
which  He  was  to  punish  his  people  for  a  season  on  account  of 
their  iniquities.  And  as  soon  as  the  work  appointed  of  God  had 
been  accomplished,  the  '^  glory  of  the  Chaldees'  excellency"  de- 
parts, "  the  golden  head"  falls,  and  the  great  empire  is  at  an  end. 

As  its  end  drew  near,  Daniel,  in  clearer  terms,  as  I  shall  show 
from  the  sequel  of  the  prophecy,  came  to  predict  its  ruin.  From 
this  a  most  able  and  talented  writer  on  the  prophecies  of  Daniel, 
Mr.  Birks,  the  son-in-law  of  the  venerable    Mr.  Bickersteth,* 

*  It  is  difficult  to  overstate  the  loss  -wliicli  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth  has 
sustained  by  the  removal  of  this  eminent,  excellent,  Christian,  and  Protestant 
minister. 

He  was  ever  ready  to  aid,  by  his  advocacy,  the  cause  of  truth ;  liberal,  yet 
not  latitudinarian ;  a  zealous  contender  for  the  faith,  and  yet  never  betrayed 
into  bitterness  of  feeling  or  violence  of  speech.  He  loved  his  church,  but  he 
loved  Christianity  still  more.  No  man  was  so  tenacious  of  essential  truth,  yet 
none  i-ejoiced  more  than  he  did  in  the  company  of  the  good  and  faithful  of 
every  name.    He  possessed  great  clearness  of  mind,  and  yet  greater  warmth  of 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  69 

argues^  that  we  may  expect  that,  as  God  revealed  by  liis  prophets 
more  clearly — for  Daniel  states  that  he  "  knew  If/  hooks''  the 
number  and  the  date  of  the  seventy  years — the  time  when  the 
captivity  should  be  ended,  so,  as  we  draw  near  to  the  end  of  this 
dispensation,  he  will  make  more  clear,  intelligible,  and  distinct, 
the  years  that  number  the  times  of  the  Gentiles. 

We  must  not  suppose  there  was  any  thing  strange  in  God's 
revealing  this  to  a  heathen  prince,  and  through  the  medium  of 
what  appears  to  us  so  common  and  trivial  a  thing  as  a  dream. 
To  Abraham,  Moses,  and  Job,  God  spoke  face  to  face;  but  in 
general  he  revealed  future  events  by  means  of  dreams.  And  he 
himself  declares,  ''  If  there  be  a  prophet  among  you,  I  the  Lord 
will  make  myself  known  to  him  in  a  vision,  and  will  speak  unto 
him  in  dreams. ^^  Jacob  was  promised  his  patrimony  in  a  dream. 
In  a  dream  the  Lord  appeared  to  Solomon,  and  bade  him  ask 
what  he  wished.  In  a  dream  Pharaoh  was  warned  of  the  famine 
that  was  about  to  visit  Egypt ;  and  from  some  traditional  recollec- 
tions of  these  facts  arises  the  popular  belief,  that  that  which  is 
about  to  come  to  pass  is  sometimes  revealed  to  men  in  dreams. 
It  may  be  so.  There  is  no  reason  to  conclude  that  God  does  not 
come  into  closer  contact  with  the  human  mind  than  many  are  dis- 
posed to  believe ;  only  you  are  not  to  read  Providence  and  Scrip- 
ture in  the  light  of  your  dream ;  you  are  to  read  your  dream  in 
the  light  of  Scripture.  If  in  a  dream  any  thing  seems  revealed 
to  you  contrary  to  Scripture,  it  is  not  from  God.     If  it  be  con- 


heart;  earnest  and  unwearied  advocacy  of  truth  ;  a  walk  unimpeachable  before 
the  severest  censor,  and  beautiful,  because  truly  apprehended  by  the  people 
of  God. 

Every  Christian  that  knew  him  loved  him.  Even  his  enemies — the  enemies 
of  truth — hesitated  to  select  Mr.  Bickersteth  as  the  object  of  vituperation,  or 
satire,  or  assault,  well  aware,  that  in  their  selection  of  one  so  widely  revered, 
their  attack  would  recoil  upon  themselves  far  sooner  than  in  the  case  of  other 
and  more  easily  vulnerable  champions  of  truth. 

His  removal  at  a  crisis  when  his  life  and  counsel  were  so  singularly  needed 
is  to  us  inexplicable.  Perhaps  it  is  judgment  beginning  at  the  house  of  God, 
and  thus  his  gain  may  be  not  only  our  loss  but  our  punishment.  Very  soon  he 
will  come  with  his  coming  Lard,  and  such  of  us  as  may  be  alive  will  meet  the 
sublime  procession  in  the  air,  and  our  separation,  so  widely  and  bitterly  be- 
wailed, will  render  our  meeting  again,  where  separations  are  unknown,  more 
glorious.     Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus  ! 


70  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

sistent  witli  the  Scripture,  it  is  from  Gocl.  But  recollect,  you 
live  not  by  what  you  dream,  but  by  what  you  read  in  God's 
Holy  Word.  Any  one  that  adds  to  that  Word,  to  him  shall  be 
added  its  curses ;  any  one  that  subtracts  from  it,  from  him  shall 
be  subtracted  the  promises  revealed  in  it. 

In  the  next  place,  is  there  not  in  the  destruction  of  Babylon  a 
foreshadow  of  what  shall  be  the  end  of  this  dispensation  ?  Cyrus 
burst  upon  Babylon  while  its  princes  and  its  people  were  feasting 
and  revelling ;  and  so  in  the  period  that  immediately  precedes 
our  Lord's  advent  it  will  be  asked,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his 
coming  ?  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as 
they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation.^ ^  I  believe  that 
only  God's  people  will  be  taught  to  anticipate  that  blessed  day, 
that  glorious  epoch.  They  alone  will  be  found  resting,  by  retro- 
spective faith,  upon  that  perfect  sacrifice,  which  speaks  better 
things  than  the  blood  of  Abel ;  their  eyes  stretching  through  the 
vista  of  the  future,  to  catch  the  rays  of  the  approaching  sun, 
which  shall  rise  and  shine  from  his  meridian  throne  to  set  no  more. 

To  those  that  look  for  him,  "  he  will  appear  the  second  time 
without  sin  unto  salvation.^'  May  we  not  believe,  that  we  have 
in  the  destruction  of  the  literal  Babylon  a  type  and  foreshadow- 
ing of  what  will  be  the  destruction  of  that  Babylon  of  which  it 
was  the  prototype,  and  with  whose  destruction  the  Apocalypse  is 
so  fully  and  unmistakably  charged  ?  It  is  there  stated  that 
^^her  plagues  shall  come"  upon  Babylon  "in  one  day,  death,  and 
mourning,  and  famine."  You  recollect  my  endeavouring  to  show 
you  what  the  future  prospects  of  Rome  are.  My  belief  always 
was,  that  the  pontiff  would  be  replaced  on  his  throne ;  but,  along 
with  that,  the  clear  indications  of  the  prophetic  word  seem  to  be, 
that  by  his  attempts  to  assert  a  supremacy  that  is  God's,  and  to 
wield  a  sceptre  from  which  the  prestige  and  the  glory  seem  to  be 
gone  for  ever,  he  should  precipitate  on  himself  only  a  more  terri- 
ble and  consuming  catastrophe. 

But  Babylon  has  passed  away;  and  modern  Babylon  will  pass 
away  too.  Where,  however,  are  we  ?  and  what  shall  we  do  when 
the  crash  and  desolation  of  the  last  hour  comes  ?  Is  our  citizen- 
ship in  heaven?  Are  our  hearts  and  pleasures  beyond  the  skies? 
Are  we  travelling  upon  our  road  in  practical  obedience  to  the  text 


BABYLON,  THE  GOLDEN  HEAD.  71 

— "'Be  ye  not  conformed  to  this  world?"  Are  we  walking  amid 
these  dark  shadows  that  are  creeping  over  the  surface  of  the  whole 
earth,  as  pilgrims  and  strangers,  ''  looking  for  a  city  that  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  Grod  ?"  Does  the  disso- 
lution of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  the  breaking  up  of  ancient 
establishments  and  hoary  dynasties,  the  heaving  of  all  things, 
church  and  state  both  together,  as  if  some  terrible  subterranean 
forces  were  pressing  upward  and  ready  every  moment  to  explode 
and  leave  all  in  ruins,  affect  us  ?  Are  we  leaning  and  trusting 
upon  these  things  ?  Are  we  thinking  of  our  wealth,  our  rank, 
our  property,  our  sect,  our  church,  our  party,  more  than  we  are 
thinking  of  Christ  ?  Are  we  looking  for  the  Lord  ?  Does  the 
night  of  approaching  doom  only  warn  us  to  prepare  for  the  glo- 
rious jubilee  that  shall  foUaw  ?  ''  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest 
at  any  time  your  hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and 
drunkenness,  and  with  the  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day 
come  upon  you  unawares  V  May  He  add  his  blessing,  and  to  his 
name  be  the  praise.  Amen. 


72 


LECTURE  VI. 

THE   MEDO-PERSIAN   AND   GR^CO-MACEDONIAN   EMPIRES. 

"And  after  thee  shall  arise  another  kingdom  inferior  to  thee,  and  another 
third  kingdom  of  brass,  -which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth." — Daniel  h.  39. 

This  is  part  of  the  explanation  of  the  vision  seen  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. He  saw  a  great  image,  of  which  we  read  at  vers©  31, 
that  this  great  image  "  stood  beforo  him,  whose  brightness  was 
excellent,  and  the  form  thereof  was  terrible.''  The  head  of  this 
image  was  of  fine  gold,  "  his  breast  and  his  arms  of  silver,  his  belly 
and  his  thighs  of  brass,  his  legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and 
part  of  clay.''  And  the  king  saw  until  "  a  stone  cut  out  without 
hands  smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay, 
and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass, 
the  silver,  and  the  gold  broken  to  pieces  together,  and  became 
like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors;  and  the  wind 
carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was  found  for  them  :  and  the 
stone  that  smote  the  image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  filled 
the  whole  earth."  This  was  the  dream ;  and  then  follows  the 
interpretation  : — "  Thou,  0  king,  art  a  king  of  kings :  for  the 
God  of  heaven  hath  given  thee  a  kingdom,  power,  strength,  and 
glory.  And  wheresoever  the  children  of  men  dwell,  the  beasts 
of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he  given  into  thine 
hand,  and  hath  made  thee  ruler  over  them  all.  Thou  art  this' 
head  of  gold."  This  was  the  first  kingdom.  Then  the  second 
kingdom,  which  is  likened  to  the  breast  and  the  arms  of  silver,  is 
described  in  verse  39  :  '^And  after  thee  shall  arise  another  king- 
dom inferior  to  thee."  And  then  the  third  universal  kingdom  is 
represented  by  the  image  having  "  the  belly  and  the  thighs  of 
brass,"  and  is  described  as  ^^  another  third  kingdom  of  brass, 
which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth."  And  of  the  fourth 
kingdom,  "  the  legs  of  iron,"  it  is  predicted,  ''  The  fourth  king- 


THE   SILVER    AND   BRASS   EMPIRES.  73 

dom  shall  be  strong  as  iron  :  forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in  pieces 
and  subduetli  all  things :  and  as  iron  that  breaketh  all  these, 
shall  it  break  in  pieces  and  bruise." 

Now,  I  explained  before,  that  in  all  the  records  of  history  there 
have  been  but  four  supreme,  universal,  absolute  monarchies  from 
the  beginning;  the  first  being  that  of  Babylon,  the  sceptre  of 
which  extended  over  all  the  nations  that  were  then  known,  and 
the  sovereignty  of  which  was  undisputed,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
oppose  it.  Such  was  the  first,  or  the  head  of  gold.  In  my  last, 
I  showed  its  rise,  its  national  grandeur,  its  decay,  and  its  utter 
destruction  before  the  armies  of  Cyrus  :  we  now  find  that  another 
kingdom  was  to  arise  inferior  to  Babylon,  just  as  the  silver  is 
inferior  to  the  gold ;  of  greater  territorial  dimensions,  but  of  less 
national  sjDlendour  and  magnificence.  The  twofold  character  that 
is  here  indicated — for  every  symbol  in  the  Bible  has  its  counter- 
part in  history  and  in  fact — viz.  its  having  the  breast  and  the  two 
arms  stretching  out  from  it  of  silver,  instantly  suggests  the 
historic  fact  that  Cyrus  was  the  monarch,  that  Media  was  one 
arm,  and  Persia  the  other ;  these  being  two  component  parts  of 
the  kingdom  of  Cyrus,  he  being  the  tie  thcit  knit  the  two  realms 
into  one.  Persia  was  the  one  realm,  and  Media  the  other ;  the 
latter  absorbed  by  the  former,  and  both,  like  two  arms,  joined 
together  in  Cyrus,  who  inspired  them  with  their  vigour,  wielded 
their  energies  with  success,  and  established  their  empire  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  thereof.  You  have  then,  in 
Media  and  Persia,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  history,  the  Medo-Persian 
universal  sovereignty,  the  fulfilment,  years  after  Daniel  wrote,  of 
the  symbol  shown  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  of  the  prediction  un- 
folded by  Daniel ;  and  thus  the  coincidence  between  the  prophecy 
and  the  fact  is  entire. 

But  that  you  may  see  how  truly  what  I  state  is  confirmed  by 
history,  I  shall  quote  two  sentences — I  might  quote  many,  but  I 
will  confine  myself  to  two  of  the  most  striking — the  one  from 
Herodotus,  "  the  father  of  history,"  who  says,  in  describing  the 
empire  of  Cyrus,  "Wherever  Cyrus  marched  throughout  the 
earth,  it  was  impossible  for  the  nations  to  escape  him ;"  and  the 
other  from  Xenophon,  who,  in  his  Cyropsedla,  which,  literally 
translated,  means  the  "'instruction,"  or  " bringing-up,"  of  Cyrus, 


74  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

and  witli  whicli  every  schoolboy  is  more  or  less  familiar — (here,  I 
may  mention,  by  the  way,  is  one  object  in  teaching  yoimg  men  the 
classics,  or  the  learning  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans;  such  know- 
•  ledge  confirms  and  demonstrates  to  mankind  the  veracity  and 
authenticity  of  the  writers  of  the  word  of  God) — Xenophon,  then, 
in  his  Cij7^oiosedia,  thus  describes  the  universality  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  Cyrus  :  "  He  ruled  the  Medes,  subverted  the  Syrians, 
the  Assyrians,  the  Arabians,  the  Cappadocians,  the  Phrygians, 
the  Lydians,  the  Carians,  the  Babylonians,  the  Indians,  the 
Phoenicians,  the  Greeks  in  Asia,  the  Cyprians,  the  Egyptians,  and 
struck  all  with  such  dread  and  terror,  that  none  ventured  to  assail 
him.  He  subdued  from  his  throne  east,  west,  north,  and  south/' 
You  have  thus  the  heathen  historian  leaving  behind  him  those 
recorded  facts,  which  form  the  brightest  comment  upon  the  breast 
and  the  two  arms  of  silver,  or  the  second  universal  monarchy, 
which  during  its  existence  subdued  and  reigned  over  the  whole 
earth.  After  its  disappearance,  we  have  a  third  empire,  which 
is  symbolized  by  ''  the  belly  and  the  thighs  of  brass."  This  was 
the  symbol  that  Nebuchadnezzar  saw,  and  the  interpretation  of  it 
by  Daniel  is,  "  a  third  universal  sovereignty." 

Now  show  me,  from  the  days  of  Cyrus  downward  to  the  com- 
mencement of  Rome,  any  other  empire,  either  from  history  or 
from  any  source  whatever,  that  can  be  called  universal — I  mean, 
extendino-  over  the  whole  known  world — except  the  Grasco-Mace- 
donian  empire  of  Alexander  the  Great.  He  and  his  father  Philip, 
king  of  Macedon,  against  whom  Demosthenes  so  eloquently 
harangued,  subdued  the  Medo-Persians,  and  finally  and  ultimately 
all  the  provinces  of  the  habitable  globe.  This  third  monarchy 
was  of  brass ;  making  up  in  strength  what  it  lost  in  value ',  in 
glare  and  apparent  splendour  what  it  lost  in  real  and  substantial 
merit.  But  it  also  was  divided,  you  find,  into  two  great  provinces, 
which,  from  their  position,  formed  the  lower  or  supporting  parts 
of  the  empire.  Accordingly,  we  ascertain  from  history,  that 
Syria  and  Egypt,  the  lower  parts  of  the  empire,  were  divided  j 
and  on  these  the  colossal  image,  or  empire  of  Alexander,  rested. 
It  was  about  334  years  before  Christ  that  Alexander  began  his 
expedition  against  Persia,  the  second  universal  empire.  He  over- 
threw ihoi  silver  monarchy,  just  as  it  had  overthrown  the  golden 


THE   SILVER   AND    CRASS   EMPIRES.  75 

monarchy  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  by  the  great  battle  of  Arbela, 
which  was  fought  about  331  years  before  Christ,  he  established 
his  own  undisputed  supremacy.  It  arose  upon  the  ruins  of 
Babylon  and  Persia,  fed  its  strength  from  their  wreck,  and 
stretched  out  a  sceptre  more  powerful  than  either,  till  Alexander 
the  G-reat,  when  he  had  overthrown  the  wide  world,  leaving  like 
a  wilderness  behind  what  he  had  found  to  be  the  garden  of  the 
Lord  before  him,  sat  down  and  wept  like  a  child,  because,  the 
whole  world  being  subdued,  there  was  no  other  place  to  conquer 
and  attach  to  his  empire. 

You  have,  then,  in  the  G-rEeco-Macedonian  empire  the  fulfilment 
of  that  portion  of  the  image  which  represented  the  third  universal 
sovereignty  that  occupied  the  whole  world.  In  looking  at  this 
part  of  my  subject,  there  is  just  one  thing  more  I  should  like  to 
notice.  The  period  that  comprehended  the  Medo-Persian  and  the 
Grseco-3Iacedonian  empires,  or  the  second  and  third  universal 
monarchies,  was,  perhaps,  the  most  brilliant  in  the  world.  The 
galaxy  of  heroes,  poets,  painters,  orators,  statesmen,  historians, 
that  shine  in  the  firmament  of  that  celebrated  era,  has  perhaps 
never  been  equalled  in  brilliancy  and  beauty.  But  what  I  wish 
you  to  notice  is,  that  while  this  period  occupied  all  the  attention 
of  the  historians,  the  poets,  and  the  orators  of  Grreece  and  Rome, 
and  is  referred  to  by  them  as  the  brightest  and  most  illustrious 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  how  little  space  it  occupies  in  the 
word  of  Grod ! 

During  the  course  of  these  empires,  we  have  the  conquests  of 
Cyrus,  the  expedition  of  Xerxes — Marathon,  the  name  of  which 
is  almost  an  oration — Thermopylae,  which  is  the  burden  of  so 
many  poets'  songs — and  Salamis.  \Ye  have  Miltiades,  Themisto- 
cles,  Aristides,  Pericles,  and  Demosthenes;  in  short,  all  that  man 
can  appreciate  of  earthly  glory  reached  at  this  period  its  culmi- 
nating grandeur,  and  has  commanded  in  every  land  the  admiration 
of  poets,  and  the  reminiscences  of  historians ;  but  these  events,  so 
prominent  in  the  records  of  man,  are  but  feebly  touched  by  the 
pencil  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Great  warriors — able  orators — 
mighty  poets — illustrious  statesmen — are  treated  in  the  Bible  as 
the  grass  that  groweth  up  and  the  flower  of  the  grass  that  fadeth ; 
and  great  truths,  interwoven  with  man's  everlasting  well-being, 


76  rUOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

are  alone  prominent  in  the  word  of  God  that  liveth  and  cndurcth 
for  ever  and  ever.  But  while  these  fade  like  the  grass,  and  their 
greatest  ones  as  the  flower  of  the  grass,  the  same  book  teaches  us 
that  "  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  firmament,  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 
Man's  history  relates  to  his  own  heroes  and  victories,  and  these 
occupy  all  his  pages;  God's  history  relates  to  and  describes  man 
in  the  light  of  eternity,  and  views  all  things  as  they  bear  upon 
that  momentous  issue. 

These,  then,  were  the  second  and  third  empires ;  and  in  verse 
40  we  have  the  fourth  empire  in  its  undivided  state.  ^'The 
fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron,"  etc.  This  empire  can 
be  proved  from  history  to  be  none  other  than  the  great  Eoman 
empire  itself.  From  the  period  when  Alexander  swept  the  world 
and  made  it  the  measure  of  his  kingdom,  to  the  period  when 
Rome  gained  the  ascendency  and  became  the  universal  empire, 
we  read  of  no  other  universal,  supremo,  and  absorbing  sovereignty. 
We  find  from  history  that  the  Macedonian  empire,  which  I  have 
described,  was  overthrown  about  142  years  before  Christ.  Syria 
was  conquered  64  years  before  Christ;  Egypt  30  years  before; 
and  this  vast  empire  then  began  its  course  about  30  years,  or,  at  the 
very  remotest,  142  years  before  Christ,  and  continued  until 
nearly  400  years  after  that  period,  the  alone  supreme  and  uni- 
versal empire.  One  may  also  see  that  this  the  judgment  formed 
by  modern  commentators  was  the  universal  judgment  of  the 
earliest  writers  upon  the  word  of  God.  Theodoret,  a  Greek 
father,  states  that  the  first  empire,  of  gold,  was  the  Babjdonian ; 
the  second,  of  silver,  was  the  Medo-Persian ;  the  third,  of  brass, 
the  Graeco-Macedonian ;  and  the  fourth,  or  iron  empire,  he  says, 
was  none  else  than  the  Roman  empire  itself. 

You  must  notice,  in  looking  at  this  prophecy  of  Daniel,  that 
more  space  is  devoted  to  the  history  of  the  Roman  empire  than 
to  that  of  any  of  the  other  three.  A  large  space  is  devoted  to 
Babylon ;  but  a  much  larger  space  in  the  Bible  relates  to  the 
Roman  empire.  Why  so  ?  The  Roman  soldiers  were  present  at 
the  crucifixion ;  a  Roman  oflBicer  was  the  first  among  the  Gentiles 
to  receive  the  gospel ;  the  Roman  capitol  was  the  pulpit  of  Paul ; 
the  Roman  people  became  the  first  converts  to  the  gospel ;  through 


THE   SILVER   AND   BRASS  EMPIRES.  77 

the  Roman  language  and  by  Roman  roads  the  gospel  was  carried 
from  the  Capitol  to  the  remotest  regions  of  the  habitable  globe ; 
and  on  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  empire  was  constructed  that 
dread  sacerdotal  despotism  which  has  corrupted  the  oracles  of 
God,  ruined  the  souls  of  mankind,  and  is  now  drunk,  as  I  shall 
show  you  in  a  subsequent  lecture,  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  of 
God — I  mean  the  Romish  Church. 

Now,  in  showing  the  rise  of  the  Roman  universal  empire,  we 
notice,  first,  Macedon  was  conquered,  and  disappeared  from  occu- 
pying its  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth;  Carthage  was 
razed  to  the  ground ;  Corinth,  the  capital  of  all  that  was  luxurious 
and  refined,  was  reduced  to  ashes.  Spain  next  fell  before  the 
victorious  arms  of  Rome ;  Egypt  was  reduced  to  a  Roman  pro- 
vince; Judea  became  part  of  the  Roman  empire,  as  the  New 
Testament  will  show  you;  and  Jerusalem  itself,  the  capital  of 
Judea,  was  torn  up  by  the  Roman  ploughshare,  under  Titus  and 
Vespasian,  the  Roman  emperors.  When  Rome  had  thus,  like 
iron,  bruised  and  broken  down  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and 
reduced  them  under  its  iron  sceptre,  this  island,  a  small  spot  in 
the  midst  of  the  deep — a  country  full  of  roving  savages  and  wild 
barbarians — a  race  that  knew  not  what  civilization  was,  and  had 
still  less  idea  of  what  Christianity  proclaimed — this  distant  isle 
of  the  sea  provoked  the  cupidity  and  stirred  the  ambition  of 
Rome;  at  length  it  was  invaded,  and  likewise  subjected  to  the 
rule  of  the  Roman  empire.  It  was  when  the  Romans  had  reached 
Scotland,  and  were  subduing  a  portion  of  it,  that  Galgacus,  the 
celebrated  chieftain,  addressed  the  Caledonians  in  the  following 
words,  which  show  how  truly  Rome  was  at  this  moment  become 
the  universal  sovereign: — "These  ravagers  of  the  world/^  said 
the  Scottish  chieftain,  "  after  all  the  earth  has  been  too  narrow 
for  their  ambition,  have  ransacked  the  sea  also.  If  their  enemy 
be  rich,  they  are  covetous;  if  poor,  they  are  ambitious.  The 
East  cannot  satiate  theua,  no  more  can  the  West.  To  plunder,  to 
murder,  to  rob,  is  all  their  delight.  Violence  they  call  dominion; 
and  wherever  they  make  a  dreary  solitude,  they  call  it  peace." 
But  the  most  decisive  testimony  to  the  universal  iron  supremacy 
of  Rome,  the  fourth  empire  of  Dciniel,  is  given  by  Gibbon,  who, 
as  usual,  is  here  the  undesigning,  the  unconscious,  but  the  faithful 

7* 


78  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

witness  to  the  truth  of  the  prophecies  of  God.  Gibbon  thus 
speaks  of  the  extent  of  the  Roman  dominions : — ^'  The  empire 
was  about  two  thousand  miles  in  breadth,  from  the  wall  of  Anto- 
ninus and  northern  limits  of  Dacia  to  the  Atlas  and  the  tropic  of 
Cancer.  It  extended  in  length  more  than  three  thousand  miles, 
from  the  "Western  ocean  to  the  Euphrates.  The  arms  of  the  re- 
public, sometimes  vanquished  in  battle,  alwiijs  yictorious  in  war, 
advanced  with  rapid  strides  to  the  Euphrates,  and  the  Danube, 
and  the  Rhine,  and  the  ocean;  and  the  image  of  gold,  or  silver, 
or  brass,  that  might  serve  to  represent  the  nations  or  kings,  were 
successively  broken  by  the  iron  monarchy  of  Rome.^' 

Thus,  strange  enough,  Gibbon  states,  as  if  he  could  find  no 
language  so  truly  descriptive  of  historic  fact  as  the  language  of 
Daniel,  '^  The  image  of  gold,  or  silver,  or  brass,  that  might  serve 
to  represent  the  nations  of  kings,  was  successively  broken  up  by 
the  iron  monarchy  of  Rome ;"  so  completely  does  God's  prophecy 
find  its  echo  in  man's  unconscious  history.  In  other  words,  the 
infidel  historian  could  find  no  language  so  descriptive  of  fact  as 
the  very  words  of  prophecy  in  the  book  of  Daniel ;  and  thus  he 
proved,  not  only  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  but  the  fulness, 
the  beauty,  and  the  force  of  the  words  in  which  that  prophecy 
was  couched. 

This  iron  despotism  or  empire  is  further  proved  to  be  the  fourth 
universal  empire,  by  another  extract  which  I  will  give  from  Gib- 
bon. "There  was,"  says  the  historian,  "not  an  inch  of  ground 
then  known  exempt  from  its  sceptre.  The  modern  tyrant  who 
should  find  no  resistance  in  his  own  breast,  or  in  his  people,  would 
soon  experience  a  gentle  restraint  from  the  example  of  his  equals, 
the  dread  of  censure,  the  apprehension  of  enemies.  The  object 
of  his  displeasure  escaping  the  narrow  limits  of  his  dominion, 
would  easily  obtain,  in  a  happier  climate,  a  secure  refuge,  freedom 
of  complaint,  and  perhaps  means  of  revenge.  But  the  empire 
of  the  Romans  filled  the  world,  and  when  that  empire  fell  into 
the  hands  of  a  single  person,  the  world  became  a  safe  and  dreary 
prison  for  his  enemies.  To  resist  was  fatal,  and  it  was  impossible 
to  fly.  On  every  side  he  was  encompassed  with  a  vast  extent  of 
sea  and  land,  which  he  could  never  hope  to  traverse,  without 
being   discovered,  seized,  and  restored  to  his  irritated  master. 


THE   SILVER   AND   BRASS   EMPIRES.  79 

Beyond  the  frontiers^  he  could  discover  nothing  except  the  ocean, 
inhospitable  deserts,  and  hostile  tribes  of  fierce  barbarians/' 

Gibbon  is  my  witness  that  the  fourth  kingdom  should  be 
"  strong  as  iron ;  forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in  pieces  and  sub- 
dueth  all  things,  so  shall  it  break  in  pieces  and  bruise/'  Thus 
truly  is  history  the  echo  of  prophecy  !  God  sketches  the  outline 
in  his  word,  and  kings,  and  heroes,  and  poets,  and  painters,  and 
historians,  as  if  smitten  witli  some  mysterious  instinct,  instantly 
rise  to  their  places,  and  fill  up  with  their  details  what  God  has  so 
fully  sketched. 

Now  then,  having  looked  at  the  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
four  great  empires,  I  ask,  can  any  one  doubt,  in  reading  their 
history,  that  the  prophecy  which  predicted  that  existence  hun- 
dreds of  years  before,  is  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  ? 
Can  we  doubt,  from  the  comparison  of  the  prophecy,  so  plain,  with 
the  historic  facts,  so  indisputable  and  so  clearly  established,  that 
there  is  a  God  who  revealed  them,  and  does  reveal  secrets  still  ? 
Can  we  suppose  that  that  man  was  uninspired  by  Him  to  whom 
the  present  and  the  future  are  equally  clear,  who  could  stand  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  when  its  grandeur  and 
power  seemed  the  prophecy  of  its  immortality,  and  the  sceptre  of 
its  monarchy  a  sceptre  too  strong  for  any  rival  to  destroy,  or  for 
any  foe  to  shatter ; — can  we  suppose  that  Dcinicl,  standing  under 
such  circumstances,  in  the  midst  of  such  imperial  magnificence, 
and  predicting  that  this  empire  should  pass  away,  and  a  second 
should  speedily  occupy  its  throne ;  and  that  that  second  empire 
should  also  fade,  and  a  third  should  take  its  place ;  and  that  a 
fourth  empire  should  arise,  fiercer  and  more  powerful  than  the 
three  that  preceded  it,  and,  like  iron,  irresistibly  tread  down  and 
subdue  to  its  supremacy  all  the  nations  of  the  habitable  globe; — 
could  he,  I  say,  have  done  all  this,  if  he  had  not  been  inspired  by 
a  power  far  greater  than  any  human  foresight  could  bestow  ?  If 
God  be  in  history,  which  we  know  to  be  the  fact,  is  there  not 
God  in  prophecy?  and  history,  therefore,  is  but  the  echo  resound- 
ing in  the  ears  of  the  present  generation  of  that  voice  which 
sounded  along  the  corridors  of  time  in  centuries  and  generations 
long  past. 

We  notice,  then,  the  sublime  and  yet  humbling  light  in  which 


80  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

all  the  heroes  and  statesmen  of  ancient  days  were  thus  uncon- 
sciously placed.  We  see  Hannibal,  who  had  never  heard  of  God's 
prophecies,  begin  his  wars  with  Rome,  and  train  her  soldiers  for 
being  the  conquerors  of  the  world.  "We  see  Scipio,  Marius,  Pom- 
pey,  and  Caesar,  each  take  up  the  position  assigned  to  him,  and 
fight,  or  fall,  or  conquer,  till  they  have  made  Rome  nothing  less 
and  nothing  more  than  what  Daniel  predicted  that  Rome  should 
become.  Thus  we  see  the  eloquence  of  Cicero,  the  poetry  of 
Virgil,  the  odes  of  Horace,  the  annals  of  Tacitus,  the  pungent 
satires  of  Juvenal,  the  history  of  Gibbon,  rush  forward  and  be- 
come the  witnesses  to  mysterious  truths,  which  they  could  not 
themselves  comprehend,  but  which  are  the  most  conclusive  proofs 
that  Daniel  spoke  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  and  the  demonstra- 
tions to  a  skeptic  world  that  God  changcth  the  times  and  the  sea- 
sons, he  removeth  kings  and  setteth  up  kings,  he  knoweth  what 
is  in  the  darkness  and  in  the  light,  he  revealeth  the  deep  and 
secret  things,  and  the  light  dwelleth  with  him.  All  these  fell 
into  their  places  just  at  the  appointed  times,  and  while  they 
thought  they  were  doing  each  his  own  work,  all  were  co-operating 
to  accomplish  God's  predictions;  while  they  thought  they  were 
the  statuaries  cutting  out  the  image  after  their  own  design, 
they  were  but  the  chisels  in  the  hand  of  the  great  Statuary,  un- 
consciously and  unintentionally  fulfilling  his  own  grand  and  sub- 
lime purposes. 

In  the  next  place,  we  learn  the  lesson  that  there  are  no 
accidents  on  earth — all  history  is  thus  constantly  fulfilling  all  pro- 
phecy. If  you  read  attentively  the  history  of  Rome,  you  would 
see  that  at  times  it  seemed  almost  to  struggle  for  existence.  At 
one  time  it  depended,  you  would  say,  upon  the  turning  of  a  straw, 
whether  Remus  and  Romulus,  the  alleged  founders  of  Rome, 
should  be  left  to  perish  in  the  wilderness ;  it  rested,  you  would 
say,  at  another  time,  upon  the  single  sword  of  Camillus,  which 
scale  should  preponderate;  and  once  the  Capitol  of  the  city  was 
saved  by  the  geese  which  were  accidentally  fed  there.  All  these 
seem  to  man  accidents ;  and  human  history,  read  by  human  light, 
seems  a  collection  of  lucky  and  fortuitous  occurrences.  But  when 
a  Christian  looks  at  history,  it  becomes  all  luminous  in  the  light 
of  the  gospel.     The  sword  of  Camillus  was  chosen  and  calculated 


THE   SILVER   AND   BRASS   EMPIRES.  81 

by  God  as  plainly  as  any  fact  in  history ;  the  birds  that  saved  the 
Capitol  had  their  mission  by  the  appointment  of  God ;  and  soldier 
and  senator,  poet  and  orator,  had  each  his  work  to  do,  that  God's 
great  plans  might  be  completed,  and  God's  great  work  might  be 
done. 

In  the  next  place,  we  may  learn  that  what  was  true  of  Rome, 
who  fulfilled  her  portion  of  prophecy,  is  no  less  true  of  Great 
Britain,  which  is  fulfilling  hers.  We  see  around  us  conflict,  and 
trouble,  and  exaction,  and  dismay ;  and  we  are  sometimes  prone 
to  tremble,  as  if  the  glorious  issue  were  placed  in  jeopardy.  Save 
yourselves  that  feeling :  you  need  not  tremble.  Man's  word  does 
ftiil,  and  he  that  builds  on  it  may  tremble;  but  God's  word 
endureth  for  ever,  and  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  one 
jot  or  one  tittle  of  this  book  shall  not  fail  till  all  be  fulfilled. 
And  therefore,  when  I  look  around  me  in  this  great  land  of  ours, 
and  see  all  things,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  criminally  or 
innocently,  doing  God's  work — the  illustrious  Wellington  in  the 
field — the  great  Pitt  in  the  senate — the  invincible  Nelson  on  the 
deck — the  martja-dom  or  the  murder,  call  it  which  you  please,  of 
Charles — the  ascendency  of  Cromwell — the  reign  even  of  George 
the  Fourth,  and  the  pure  and  beautiful  sway  of  her  who  now 
wields  the  sceptre  of  this  mighty  land — I  discover  that  all  are 
ecjually  helping  the  purpose,  and  accomplishing  the  predictions  of 
God  :  I  rest  in  the  Lord,  and  am  still.  In  the  narratives  of  Scott 
— the  poetry  of  Byron — the  socialism  of  Owen — the  piety  of 
Wilberforce — the  atheism  of  Yoltaire — the  vulgar  infidelity  of 
Paine — the  pantheism  of  Emerson — the  "  pamphlets  for  the  last 
days  of  Carlyle," — all  of  them,  whatever  be  their  virtues  or  their 
crimes,  whatever  be  their  falsehood  or  their  truth,  whatever  be 
their  folly  or  their  wisdom,  are  rising  on  the  stage,  each  trampling 
down  the  other  in  its  turn,  to  fulfil  the  purposes  and  manifest  the 
glorious  predictions  of  God.  Their  freedom  and  their  responsi- 
bility are  untouched ;  the  direction  and  the  efi'ect  of  all  they  say 
and  do  is  clear  as  the  stars  in  the  firmament.  Thus  centuries 
have  their  mission  and  their  duty  to  perform — moments  have 
their  work — all  men  their  places ;  and  the  most  wicked,  like  a 
leech  applied  to  the  human  body,  seek  to  serve  themselves,  but 


82  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

are  only  doing  the  work  of  the  great  Physician  who  prescribes, 
controls,  and  governs  them. 

The  next  lesson  we  learn  from  this  survey  is,  that  God  is  also 
in  the  world.  The  world  is  not  an  orb  abandoned  by  the  Deity, 
and  left  to  traverse  its  own  course,  or  to  follow  its  own  impulses. 
Society  is  not  like  rain-drops  sprinkled  in  the  field  or  on  the 
pavement,  without  design,  without  cohesion  or  purpose ;  but  they 
are  all  under  God's  providential  government;  and  God  is  as  much 
in  the  midst  of  this  great  city  as  he  was  between  the  cherubim 
when  his  glory  dazzled  all  eyes  by  its  splendour,  or  when  he 
revealed  himself  in  the  burning  bush,  or  when  he  thundered 
upon  the  heights  of  Sinai.  Our  creed  is  not  ^^  God  was,"  but 
'^  God  is.''  The  leaf  that  falls  from  the  tree,  and  the  king  that 
is  struck  from  his  throne — the  storm  that  sweeps  the  broad  earth, 
and  the  tide  of  war,  revolution,  and  convulsion  that  desolates 
great  kingdoms,  are  all  responses  to  the  touch  of  God — mission- 
aries, consciously  or  unconsciously,  criminally  or  innocently, 
executing  and  fulfilling  the  everlasting  purposes  of  Him  whose 
kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  whose  dominion  endureth 
for  ever  and  ever. 

In  the  next  place,  let  us  learn  from  the  survey  of  these  four 
kingdoms,  the  downward  and  deteriorating  tendency  of  all  society, 
and  nations,  and  corporations  of  all  sorts,  if  they  are  without 
religion.  They  begin  with  gold ;  they  go  on  to  silver ;  they 
deteriorate  into  brass ;  and  lastly,  they  end  in  iron.  And  when 
the  strongest  has  developed  itself,  a  stone,  physically  weak,  as  I 
shall  show  in  future  lectures,  but  morally  omnipotent,  touches 
the  iron  that  has  subdued  all,  and  it  is  scattered  like  chafi"  upon 
the  threshing-floor.  Let  us  learn  this  great  lesson,  that  true  re- 
ligion is  the  sweetener  and  the  strengthener  of  society.  Exhaust 
religion  from  a  country,  from  its  schools,  and  its  churches,  and 
you  exhaust  the  vital  oxygen  from  the  nation's  air.  It  is  only 
when  the  altars  of  a  country  burn  with  holy  fire  that  the  intellect 
of  a  country  shall  glow  with  pure  and  increasing  light.  It  is 
just  in  proportion  as  religion  leavens  a  nation  that  that  nation 
stands  firm  on  its  feet,  and  may  smile  at  the  wear  and  tear  of 
ages,  knowing  that  it  has  immortality  in  proportion  as  it  has 
Christianity.    Babylon  perished,  because  it  had  no  religion.    The 


THE   SILVER  AND    BRASS   EMPIRES.  83 

Medo-Persian  empire  peri.shed  because  it  Lad  no  religion.  The 
Gr£eco-MacedonJan  empire  perished,  because  it  had  no  religion ; 
and  the  Roman  empire  perished,  because  it  had  no  religion. 
And  if  you  look  around  at  the  present  day,  you  find  Egypt,  be- 
cause without  religion,  is  a  mere  mummy ;  Greece,  because  with- 
out religion,  is  dead;  India,  because  without  religion,  is  a  moral 
desert;  China,  because  without  religion,  is  a  stagnant  morass; 
and  all  society,  domestic,  national,  provincial,  universal,  if  stripped 
and  deprived  of  its  religion,  becomes  like  a  rope  of  sand,  held 
together  by  political  compression,  but  the  instant  that  the  politics 
tremble,  that  instant  all  its  institutions  go  to  decay.  And  this 
explains  what  has  taken  place  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  Why 
is  France  dying  every  day,  so  that  one  of  its  most  illustrious 
writers  has  written  an  essay  on  the  deterioration  of  France ;  in 
which  he  shows  that  it  is  becoming  daily  so  depopulated  that  they 
are  obliged  even  to  lower  every  succeeding  year  the  standard  of 
its  army,  till  at  length  they  will  become  pigmies  instead  of  giants, 
as  the  Gauls  once  were  ?  Its  moral  state  too  is  of  the  most  awful 
description.  And  why  is  it  thus  sinking  and  deteriorating? 
Because,  as  a  nation,  it  has  cast  off  God.  And  why  is  Prussia, 
as  a  nation,  weak  and  disturbed  ?  Because  Prussian  Protestantism 
has  ceased  to  be  what  Luther  left  it.  And  why  is  it  that  Spain 
has  a  population  above  the  soil  not  one  whit  grander  or  more 
capable  of  noble  deeds  than  those  that  sleep  quietly  beneath  it  ? 
Because  it  has  no  real  religion.  And  why  is  Rome  the  by-word 
of  the  nations — its  infallibility  a  scoff,  and  its  sacerdotal  dynasty 
the  horror  of  all  that  are  acquainted  with  its  terrible  secrets  ? 
Because  it  has  no  religion.  You  can  raise  a  country's  intellect 
only  by  raising  its  people's  conscience.  The  bulwarks  and  the 
battlements  of  a  land  are  not  soldiers,  nor  sailors,  nor  creed,  nor 
politics;  it  is  righteousness  that  exalteth  a  nation,  and  sin  that  is 
the  ruin  of  any  people. 

But  we  have  another  lesson  to  learn  from  this :  if  all  the  move- 
ments of  society  are  thus  the  executors  of  the  purposes  of  God, 
it  becomes  the  Christian  to  study  what  is  going  on  around  him, 
as  well  as  what  is  written  in  the  Bible.  Christians  are  apt  to 
exclude  themselves  from  society,  and  to  be  ignorant  of  it ;  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  Bible,  which  is  their  greatest  glory,  but  to  be 


84  rRoriiETic  studies. 

criminally  and  injuriously  ignorant  of  all  that  is  around  them 
fulfilling  the  Bible,  which  is  the  neglect  of  their  plainest  duty. 
It  seems  to  me  that  at  the  present  moment,  when,  as  I  believe, 
the  stone  cut  out  without  hands  is  breiiking  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  into  atoms — at  this  moment,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  first 
study  should  be  the  book  of  grace — the  chiefest,  deepest,  most 
solemn,  most  prayerful;  but  the  next  to  that,  the  study  of  God's 
providential  dealings  at  the  present  hour.  So  that,  in  my  humble 
judgment,  the  very  newspaper  at  this  time  is  to  me  of  no  mean 
importance ;  and  if  you  want  to  see  the  Bible,  which  is  prophecy, 
reflected  in  the  form  of  history,  just  read  the  foreign  correspond- 
ence of  the  newspapers  of  every  day.  We  see  there  the  world 
commenting  upon  what  God  has  written ;  and  God,  in  his  pro- 
vidential history,  showing  us  the  truth  of  his  ancient  and  inspired 
prophecy.  But  do  not  read  the  newspaper  to  the  neglect  of  the 
Bible ;  read  the  Bible  first  and  last,  and  chiefest ;  and  use  the 
newspapers  only  as  you  would  use  any  one  fact  in  the  past  or 
present,  as  the  evidence  that  God  speaks  in  the  Bible,  and  that 
God  now  acts  in  the  world.  The  Bible  is  the  key  that  unlocks 
all :  it  is  the  torch  carried  into  the  otherwise  dark  chambers  of 
history,  showing  us  order  in  apparent  confusion ;  revealing  har- 
mony in  seemed  discord;  unity,  design,  in  what  is  otherwise 
inexplicable.  Thus  it  becomes  the  bright  chart  that  helps  us  to 
tread  with  certainty  the  windings  of  the  labyrinth;  and  to  rise 
from  the  chaos  in  which  men  plunge  and  speculate,  to  the  light 
in  which  God  is,  and  lives  for  ever. 

All  around,  I  add,  is  changing;  but  the  word  of  God  lives  and 
abides  for  ever.  Thrones  and  dynasties  and  kings  are  passing 
away,  but  God's  word  remains;  and  in  the  midst  of  all  the  vicis- 
situdes and  changes  that  are  constantly  occurring  around  us,  how 
delightful  to  know  that  there  are  added  day  by  day  to  the  church 
of  the  living  God  such  as  shall  be  saved.  I  believe  that,  day  by 
day,  religion  is  becoming  more  felt  and  appreciated.  I  believe 
too,  what  you  know,  that  empires  may  be  shattered — sceptres 
broken — thrones  convulsed — but  that  little  thing,  in  the  world's 
eye  so  weak,  according  to  the  world's  calculation  so  perishing, 
the  company  of  God's  faithful  people,  may  seem  buried  in  the 
waves  like  the  ark  of  old,  but  it  is  only  to  rise  with  the  next  bil* 


TPIE   SILVER   AND   BRASS   EMPIRES.  85 

low  nearer  to  the  skies.  ^^I  give  unto  them,"  says  our  Lord, 
'^eternal  life,  and  none  shall  be  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my 
hand."  Nothing  shall  separate  a  living  Christian  from  the  liv- 
ing God;  neither  life,  nor  death,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature.  Bre- 
thren, are  we  such  Christians?  are  we  transformed  by  the  Spirit  in 
the  renewing  of  our  hearts?  No  discussion  on  the  fulfilment  of 
prophecy  must  ever  divert,  but  on  the  contrary,  should  draw  our 
minds  to  the  consideration  of  our  personal  safety  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Are  we  reposing  on  the  only  fixture,  the  Rock  of  ages  ? 
Are  we  hiding  ourselves  within  the  everlasting  arms, — and  when 
the  last  storm  shall  come,  and  the  last  thunder  shall  roar,  and  the 
last  fires  shall  blaze,  are  we  conscious  that  we  shall  be  found  rest- 
ing on  the  rock  that  shall  never  fail  ?  Are  we  born  again  ?  Are 
we  in  the  world  and  of  the  world  ?  or  are  we  in  the  true  church, 
and  of  the  true  church,  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ? 
If  we  are,  then  we  can  stand  and  gaze  upon  the  bright  panorama 
that  spreads  before  us,  disclosing  God  in  history,  fulfilling  God  in 
prophecy;  knowing  that  all  things  only  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God,  and  hasten  that  bright  and  blessed  epoch, 
when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  God,  and  all  the  people  shall  praise  him ;  and  the  earth  shall 
yield  her  increase,  and  God,  even  our  God  shall  bless  us.    Amen. 


86 


LECTUEE  VII. 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE   SMITING   THE   IMAGE. 

''Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote  the 
image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  cla}'-,  and  brake  them  to  i^ieces. 
Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  to 
pieces  together,  and  became  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors;  and 
the  wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was  found  for  them  :  and  the  stone 
that  smote  the  image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth. 
And  whereas  thou  sawest  the  feet  and  toes,  part  of  potter's  cloy,  and  part  of 
iron,  the  kingdom  shall  be  divided;  but  there  shall  be  in  it  of  the  strength  of 
the  iron,  forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  the  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay.  And  as  the 
toes  of  the  feet  were  part  of  iron,  and  part  of  clay,  so  the  kingdom  shall  be 
partly  strong,  and  partly  broken.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with 
miry  clay,  they  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the  seed  of  men :  but  they  shall 
not  cleave  one  to  another,  even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay.  And  in  the 
days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall 
never  be  destroyed:  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  for 
ever.  Forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands,  and  that  it  brake  in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  sil- 
ver, and  the  gold ;  the  great  God  hath  made  known  to  the  king  what  shall  come 
to  pass  hereafter :  and  the  dream  is  certain,  and  the  interpretation  thereof 
sure." — Daniel  ii.  34,  35,  41-45. 

I  HAVE  explained  the  origin  of  the  remarkable  symbols,  the 
last  of  which  in  this  chapter  I  have  this  evening  read.  A  great 
and  supernatural  image  was  made  to  pass  before  the  eyes  of  Ne-. 
buchadnezzar  the  king,  intended  to  presignify  great  events  des- 
tined in  the  purposes  of  God  to  evolve  in  the  latter  days.  That 
symbol  none  of  the  soothsayers  of  Babylon  could  interpret.  What 
God  reveals,  God's  people  alone  will  clearly  comprehend;  and 
what  God  makes  known  by  mysterious  signs,  God's  own  commis- 
sioned interpreter  is  able  clearly  to  explain. 

The  head,  we  are  told,  was  made  of  gold,  and  was  declared  ex- 
pressly by  Daniel  to  be  the  Babylonian  monarchy.     That  head  of 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE   SMITING   THE   IMAGE.  87 

gold,  or  Babylonian  kingdom,  passes  away,  as  I  have  showed  you 
by  facts  drawn  from  history,  and  another  kingdom  forthwith  oc- 
cupies its  place :  the  silver  breast,  with  the  silver  arms,  denoting 
the  conjunct  or  combined  kingdom  of  the  Medo-Persians,  which 
instantly  succeeded  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  on  its  overthrow  and 
subjugation  by  Gyi'us,  after  whose  victory  its  golden  glory  left 
scarce  a  rack  behind.  We  then  read  of  a  third  kingdom — not 
guessed  by  man  to  be  so;  but  expressly  explained  by  Daniel  to 
succeed  the  second  on  its  ruin  and  decay.  ^'His  belly  and  his 
thighs  of  brass."  This  kingdom,  I  showed  you,  denotes — the 
only  possible  kingdom  it  can  be  applied  to — the  Grseco-Macedo- 
nian,  called  frequently,  as  those  acquainted  with  classic  literature 
are  aware,  ^Hhe  brazen-coated  Greeks'^ — the  Greeks  who  wore 
coats  and  helmets  of  mail  and  brass.  This  kingdom  may  be  said 
to  have  been  founded  by  Philip,  who  warred  so  successfully  with 
the  Greeks,  and  against  whom  the  thunders  and  lightnings  of 
Demosthenes  were  so  vividly  and  so  frequently  pointed.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Alexander — Alexander  the  Great — 
who,  I  need  not  tell  any  one  acquainted  with  the  elements  of 
schoolboy  literature,  swept  the  whole  known  world — subjugated 
every  kingdom,  almost  the  instant  he  touched  it,  by  his  victo- 
rious phalanxes;  and  at  last,  when  he  had  subdued  the  whole 
world,  he  sat  down  and  wept,  because  there  was  no  more  world 
to  conquer.  His  kingdom  passed  away  after  it  had  fulfilled  its 
mission,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  mightier,  more  powerful,  iron 
kingdom  of  the  Romans;  whose  history,  rise,  and  progress,  are 
described  by  heathen  writers,  and  even  by  Gibbon,  in  a  manner 
eminently  confirmatory  of  the  predictions  of  Daniel,  as  I  have 
already  endeavoured  to  delineate  in  the  former  lecture.  This 
fourth  empire  has  been  called  again  and  again  ^^the  iron  em- 
pire." The  crown  or  diadem  of  its  monarchs  was  iron;  the 
*'iron  sway"  was  the  name  that  poets  gave  to  it;  and  when  Gib- 
bon, the  skeptic  historian,  wished  to  describe  its  rise,  its  splen- 
dour, and  its  might,  he  could  find  no  symbol  so  expressive  of  its 
actual  and  historical  nature  as  the  very  imagery  used  by.Daniel, 
which  he  consciously  or  unconsciously  quoted,  in  order  thereby 
to  denote  and  delineate  its  unrivalled  greatness,  strength,  and 
progress. 


88  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

I  stated  that  the  Koman  empire*  occupies  a  space  larger  than 
the  rest,  because  the  destiny  of  the  people  of  God  is  very  much 
interwoven  and  mixed  up  with  it.  I  have  showed  you  (and  this 
is  one  great  point  I  ask  all  to  recollect)  that  there  can  be  found 
no  four  successive  empires  in  the  world,  or  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind, possessed  of  universal  sovereignty,  except  the  four  I  have 
mentioned.  Now,  I  ask  you,  is  it  possible,  if  Daniel  were  a  mere 
guesser — a  mere  sagacious  guesser  of  future  possibilities — is  it 
probable  that  he  could  have  guessed  so  exactly  what  has  taken 
place,  and  what  all  history  attests  ?  Many  are  found  who  ask  for 
miracles.  Here  is  a  miracle  fresh  and  patent  to  all.  Here  is  a 
delineation  minutely  given  six  hundred  years  before  the  advent 
of  Christ ;  and  kings  mount  their  thrones  to  fulfil  it ;  and  the 
Roman  legion  and  the  Macedonian  phalanx  march  to  victory,  in 
order  to  make  its  most  microscopic  lines  appear  true.  Empire 
succeeds  to  empire,  army  destroys  army,  nation  follows  in  the  rear 
of  nation,  as  if  each  saw  the  chart  plainly  delineated,  and  felt 
that  each  had  a  divine  commission  to  go  forth,  verhafim  et  litera- 
tim, to  fulfil  it.  Is  not  this  prophecy  written  by  the  finger  of 
God  ?  Is  not  all  history  the  evidence  of  its  inspiration  ?  Is  not 
this  a  miracle  that  supersedes  the  necessity  of  mere  manifestations 
of  power,  however  impressive,  and  proclaims  with  a  voice  irresisti- 
ble and  full  of  argument,  "  Thy  word,  0  God,  is  truth  V 

In  this  lecture  I  proceed  to  show  the  division  of  the  last  king- 
dom, into  what  are  called  ^^  the  toes  of  the  feet''  of  this  image. 
The  legs,  from  the  knee,  were  represented  as  made  of  solid  iron; 
the  feet  were  composed  of  iron  and  clay ;  and  there  were  the  five 
toes  upon  the  one  foot  and  the  five  upon  the  other,  constituting 
thereby  ten.  But  we  should  not  conjecture  it  was  ten,  were  it 
not  that  subsequent  visions  in  the  Book  of  Daniel,  to  which  I  • 
hope  to  be  able  to  direct  your  attention,  plainly  state  it ;  and  no 
less  clear  statements  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  indicate  the  same 
number  of  kingdoms.     We  read  of  the  ^^  beast  that  was,  and  is 

*  In  searching  Chrysostom  for  another  quotation,  I  found,  in  his  fourth 
Homily,  on  2  Thess.  ii.  5,  the  following  words  : — "^nsp  yap  al  irpo  rovrov  KareXv'ir]- 
cav  ^aaiXdai,  oiov  //  MrjJwv  vno  toJj/  Ba,5uXa)i/icji',  ?';  'Ba/SvXoivioiv  ino  Ilipaoyv,  rj  lltpatjiv  vno 
MuKciovov,  fi  'MaKi:^6voiv  vnd  'Pu/uiaiojv  ovro)  KaX  av-ni  vno  roii  'Ai/rtxpiVroy,  KaKeivo;  wd 
Tov  XptuTov  Kal  ovKETi  *fa(9i?£(. — Vol.  xi.  613.     Paris.  1838. 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE    SMITING   THE   IMAGE.  89 

not."  "  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings, 
which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet.'^  The  words  "  king" 
and  ''kingdom"  are  used  convertibly  in  Daniel.  Mr.  Birks,  who 
has  written  most  ably  and  eloquently  upon  this  book,  says  the  ex- 
pression "kingdom"  is  used  when  it  is  the  subject  of  change  or 
division,  and  that  it  is  called  a  king  when  it  goes  forth  conquering 
and  deciding  the  destinies  of  a  nation.  Accordingly  we  read  in  the 
44th  verse,  '^In  the  days  of  these  kings;"  but  in  the  previous 
passage  it  is  said,  "  these  kingdoms."  Again,  of  the  king  of 
Babylon  it  is  said,  "  Thou  art  that  head  of  gold ;"  meaning, 
'^  thy  kingdom  is  represented  by  it."  The  two  words,  therefore, 
are  used  convertibly. 

Now  it  is  said  that  this  last  kingdom,  which  we  have  shown,  I 
think  irresistibly,  to  be  the  Roman  empire,  Avas  to  be  split  into 
ten  divisions  ',  or,  if  the  wild  beast  from  the  abyss,  seen  by  John 
in  Patmos,  be  taken,  it  was  to  have  ten  horns ;  or,  if  Daniel's 
subsequent  visions  be  had  recourse  to,  (which  we  shall  come  to 
by-and-by,)  it  was  to  be  tenfold.  We  have  the  fact  clearly  pre- 
dicted, that  it  was  to  be  split  or  divided  into  ten  kingdoms.  Here 
is  a  broad  prediction,  of  which  palpable  facts  can  alone  be  re- 
garded as  the  fulfilment.  Is  it  then  matter  of  historic  fact,  as  it 
is  matter  of  prophetic  declaration,  that  this  Roman  empire  has 
been  divided  into  ten  kingdoms  at  its  fall  or  decline  ?  That  this 
has  been  so,  every  historian  will  tell  you.  Gibbon  speaks  of  the 
ten  kingdoms  :  Miiller,  the  German  historian,  alludes  to  the  ten 
kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire ;  and  I  might  quote  from  histo- 
rians innumerable,  all  speaking  of  this  tenfold  division,  not  as  a 
prophetic  announcement,  but  as  an  historical  and  actual  fact. 

That  this  was  so,  I  will  show  by  giving  these  ten  kingdoms  as 
they  have  appeared  in  successive  centuries.  I  need  not  enter  into 
historical  details,  for  they  would  be  inappropriate  here — all  that 
devolves  upon  me  is  to  show  you  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies 
of  God ;  and  the  discourse  that  proves  to  you  that  what  God  in- 
spired in  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  in  history,  is  a  discourse  that 
contributes  at  least  a  drop  to  that  mighty,  deepening,  widening 
current  which  carries,  day  by  day,  accumulating  evidence  of  the 
inspiration  and  heaven-descended  origin  of  God's  blessed  book. 

In  the  year  582  after  the  birth  of  Christ — that  is,  rather  more 

8« 


90  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

than  a  thousand  years  after  the  prophecy  was  uttered — we  find 
the  Roman  empire,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  on  its  last  legs ; 
and  these  last  legs  divided  into  the  following  ten  toes,  or  king- 
doms : — the  Bavarians,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  the  Alleman-Franks, 
the  Burgundian-Franks,  the  Yisi-Goths,  the  Suevi-Franks,  the 
Vandals,  Ostro-Goths,  and  Lombards.  The  next  or  last  three,  as 
if  to  fulfil  the  significance  of  another  vision  of  Daniel,  were  de- 
voured by  the  "  little  horn,"  (which  we  shall  afterward  speak  of,) 
or  were  absorbed  by  the  Roman  pope,  and  constitute  at  this  mo- 
ment what  are  called  "  the  three  estates  of  the  Church."  Then, 
in  the  year  900,  there  was  the  following  division  :  Bavaria,  G-er- 
many.  Burgundy,  France,  Aragon,  Castile,  Lower  Italy,  and  Rome, 
comprehending  the  three  estates  of  the  Church — the  Vandals, 
Ostro-Goths,  and  Lombards.  In  the  year  1214,  the  division  was  : 
Bavaria,  Germany,  Upper  Italy,  France,  Portugal,  Spain,  Naples, 
and  Rome  with  its  three  estates,  rejDresented  by  the  pope's  triple 
crown,  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church,  and  constituting 
its  property.  Then  we  come  to  1700,  when  we  find  Bavaria, 
Austria,  Savoy,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Naples,  and  Rome  with 
its  three  estates,  making  altogether  ten  kingdoms,  into  which  the 
Roman  empire  was  at  last  divided. 

As  you  are  aware,  there  is  sometimes,  in  reading  history,  a  dif- 
ficulty in  distinguishing  the  one  kingdom  from  the  other;  but, 
mark  you,  that  very  difficulty  only  makes  the  fulfilment  of  pro- 
phecy more  clear,  because  the  assertion  of  the  seer  is,  that  they  shall 
attempt  to  intermingle  with  the  seed  of  men,  but  that  they  should 
not  succeed  in  being  consolidated  into  one  universal  empire,  as 
they  were  under  Nebuchadnezzar,  under  Cyrus,  under  Alexander, 
or  under  the  Roman  Caesars;  that  with  all  their  intermingling, 
as  the  sea  interlocks  with  the  land,  the  one  losing  and  the  other 
gaining  a  bit,  the  ten  kingdoms  should  cast  up  at  the  end  of  every 
century,  more  or  less  separate,  and  should  last  till  the  end — when 
they  should  be  smitten  into  fragments  by  a  "stone  cut  out  with- 
out hands."  I  ask  you  to  notice  this  startling  fact.  If  you  will 
read  any  history  of  Europe,  or  if  you  will  study  the  maps  show- 
ing this  division — maps  which  I  hope  one  day  to  exhibit  in  my 
school-room,  as  I  have  exhibited  others,  if  I  can  only  get  them 
prepared  on  a  large  enough  scale — you  will  find  that  in  each  ceu- 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE   SMITING   THE   IMAGE.  91 

tury  these  ten  kingdoms  have  always  cast  up,  have  always  turned 
out  of  each  revolution ;  and  every  attempt  to  make  them  fewer, 
or  to  make  them  one,  has  signally  and  historically  failed. 

The  expression,  "  They  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the  seed 
of  men/'  simply  means,  that  they  should  try  by  human  alliances 
to  intermingle.  Napoleon,  for  instance,  connected  himself  by 
marriage  with  Austria.  One  would  have  supposed  that  this  would 
surely  have  brought  about  the  consolidation  of  the  two  empires ; 
but  it  did  not  do  so.  Charlemagne  subdued  Germany,  Saxony, 
Spain,  and  Italy  ;  but  his  conquests  were  temporary  :  he  had  no 
sooner  turned  his  back  upon  the  country  he  conquered,  than  it 
rose  and  reasserted  its  independence.  Louis  XIV.,  whose  bril- 
liant, but  sensual  and  profligate  reign  may  be  known  to  many  of 
you,  made  the  same  experiment.  Napoleon,  with  his  iron  crown, 
his  formidable  sword,  and  his  devastating  battalions,  swept 
through  Europe,  reached  Africa,  visited  even  Palestine  itself,  or 
at  least  Syria ;  till  at  last,  in  his  desperate  effort  to  consolidate 
all  the  nations  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  under  his  sway,  he 
was  all  but  paralyzed  in  his  infatuated  ambition,  amid  the  snows 
of  Kussia ;  and  finally,  in  that  great  victory  in  which  our  country 
signalized  itself  with  glory,  because  it  was  a  contribution  to  the 
peace  of  Europe  and  the  well-being  of  mankind,  he  was  finally 
smitten  down.  His  attempt  showed,  as  did  the  attempts  of  all 
that  preceded  him,  that  the  inner  powers  of  repulsion  in  the  ten 
kingdoms  were  stronger  than  the  outer  compression  of  Napoleon's, 
or  Charlemagne's,  or  Louis's  sword.  We  have  thus,  then,  the  ten 
kingdoms  always  coming  up,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  suc- 
cessive despots,  conquerors,  and  heroes  to  consolidate  them.  We 
have  the  failure  of  each  hero  written  in  blood,  and  stereotyped 
upon  the  page  of  Europe ;  in  spite  of  man's  great  forces,  God's 
true  word  stands  still,  fulfilled  to  the  very  letter.  Did  Daniel 
guess  all  this  ?  Who  is  the  more  credulous — the  man  who  says 
a  Jewish  captive  guessed  the  history  of  Europe,  or  he  that  says  a 
Jewish  prophet  predicted  it  by  the  inspiration  of  God  ? 

We  read,  after  this  division  of  the  empire,  that  ^''  a  stone  cut 
out  without  hands"  was  to  smite  ''  the  image  upon  its  feet,  that 
were  of  iron  and  clay."  Then  it  is  stated  that  "  in  the  days  of 
these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall 


92  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

never  be  destroyed/^  '^  Forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  that  the  stone 
was  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands,  and  that  it  brake  in 
pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  silver,  and  the  gold ;'"  so 
will  it  be  with  the  setting  up  of  this  great  kingdom  which  shall 
never  be  destroyed. 

What  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands  is,  there  can  be  scarcely  a 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  Christian.  The  apostle  Peter  tells  us, 
'^  To  whom  coming,  as  unto  a  living  stone^  disallowed  indeed  of 
men,  but  chosen  of  God,  and  precious,  ye  also,  as  lively  stones, 
are  built  up  a  spiritual  house.''  In  his  birth  there  was  not  the 
least  of  human  agency ;  in  his  resurrection  there  was  none.  In 
Christ,  peculiarly  and  alone — and  only  of  him  can  it  be  said  so — 
there  is  realized  and  verified  the  symbol  of  a  living  stone,  ^^  cut 
out  without  hands." 

But  while  this  may  be  true,  that  Christ  here  personally  is  to  be 
the  Great  Destroyer  of  the  nations,  it  may  be  no  less  true  that  his 
people  instrumen tally  are  to  play  a  part  in  it.  I  cannot  believe 
that  the  action  of  the  ^^  stone  cut  out  without  hands''  upon  the  ten 
kingdoms  was  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  the  gradual  spread  of  his 
empire,  because  it  does  not  say  that  a  power  was  to  be  introduced 
into  the  Roman  empire  that  should  spread  like  leaven,  though  that 
was  true ;  but  it  is  here  asserted  that  a  stone  was  to  strike  the  toes 
of  the  image  in  its  last  stage,  and  shatter  it  to  pieces.  Now  the 
progress  of  the  gospel,  as  a  converting  power,  is  gradual,  slow, 
and  invisible ;  but  the  action  of  the  stone,  as  here  described,  is 
not  that  of  a  converting  power,  but  of  a  destroying  and  annihi- 
lating power.  Therefore  it  is  represented  as  smiting  i\ie  ten  king- 
doms, or  the  toes  of  the  image,  and  breaking  them  in  pieces,  so 
that  they  are  scattered  like  chaff  upon  the  threshing-floor  of 
summer. 

It  is  believed  by  many,  and  I  am  one  of  those  who  incline  to 
that  belief,  that  the  mystic  stone  at  this  moment  has  begun  to 
smite  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire.  And  I  am  sure 
that  no  one  who  looks  around  him  upon  Europe,  and  reads  its 
mysterious  and  its  melancholy  history — no  one  who  is  at  this 
moment  conversant  with  what  is  doing  in  France,  where  the  vol- 
cano is  smothered,  but  any  thing  but  extinguished ;  or  with  what 
is  now  passing  in  Italy,  where  the  whole  soil  rocks,  and  is  con- 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE    SMITING    THE    IMAGE.  93 

vulsed,  as  if  by  the  heaving  of  some  mighty,  dread,  subterranean 
elements,  can  doubt  that  if  the  stone  be  not  smiting  at  this  mo- 
ment, preparatory  to  the  final  destruction  of  the  kingdoms  of 
Europe,  there  is  that  going  on  which  is  the  likest  possible  to  it. 
Bavaria,  Austria,  Savoy,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Naples,  the 
three  kingdoms  of  the  pope,  or,  as  they  are  called,  "  the  three 
estates  of  the  Church'' — the  Vandals,  Ostro-Goths,  and  Lombards 
— are  all  at  this  moment  convulsed,  each  to  its  very  centre  j 
flying  from  each  other,  as  if  by  an  irresistible  centrifugal  force; 
breaking  to  pieces,  as  if  under  the  blows  of  some  mysterious 
stone  :  Hungary  flying  off  from  Austria,  as  if  a  hammer  smote 
it  and  chipped  it  off;  Sicily  dashed  off  from  Naples;  the  pope's 
"three  estates"  rent,  torn,  agitated,  convulsed;  Ireland  feeling 
also  the  blows,  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  ten  kingdoms,  whose 
popish  characteristics  were  to  remain  to  the  end,  and  struggling 
— we  trust,  in  vain — to  be  severed  from  the  nation  that  is  its 
best,  and  its  greatest,  though  it  has  been  in  past  times  its  guilty 
and  its  offending  friend.  Does  not  all  this  look  as  if  the  stone 
had  begun  to  smite  the  ten  toes  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  ? 
And  if  it  be  so,  how  solemn  is  the  moment  we  occupy !  standing 
on  the  eve  of  startling  events;  hearing  thundering  through  the 
sky  the  reverberation  of  falling  thrones,  and  exploding  dynasties 
— sharing,  indeed,  a  momentary  lull,  but,  like  the  lull  at  sea 
which  the  sailor  knows  between  the  hurricanes,  only  preparatory 
to  the  rending  elements  that  are  instantly  and  terribly  to  succeed. 
Need  I  tell  you  that  almost  all  men  who  have  looked  abroad 
upon  the  subject  are  full  of  these  thoughts  ?  You  cannot  read 
the  foreign  communications  of  any  of  our  newspapers  without 
seeing  it ;  you  cannot  converse  with  any  man  acquainted  with  the 
state  of  Europe  who  does  not  tremble,  if  he  has  any  stake  in  it, 
for  fear  of  the  things  that  are  coming  upon  the  earth.  There  is 
an  ancient  German  prophecy,  of  which  you  may  have  heard,  that 
can  be  traced  half  a  century  back ;  I  do  not  say  it  is  inspired — 
far  from  it — because  I  have  no  evidence  that  it  is  so — but  it  was 
certainly  a  strange  guess  for  the  Germans  to  make  so  long  ago  : 
"  I  would  not  be  a  king  in  1848 ;  I  would  not  be  a  soldier  in 
1849 ;  I  would  not  be  a  grave-digger  in  1850 ;  I  will  be  any 
thing  you  please  in  1851.''     This  may  be  but  a  rough  conjecture ; 


94  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

but  how  significant  is,  ^^  I  would  not  be  a  king  in  1848  !"  How 
striking  is,  ^'  I  would  not  be  a  soldier  in  1849  V  And  whether 
^'I  would  not  be  a  grave-digger  in  1850''  is  to  be  the  foretoken 
of  a  yet  more  desolating  scourge  than  any  of  those  through  which, 
by  Grod's  mercy,  we  have  passed,  Grod  only  knows.  This,  how- 
ever, we  know — we  are  guilty.  This  we  know — we  ought  now, 
in  the  moment  of  respite,  both  as  affects  the  physical,  and  still 
more,  the  spiritual  condition  of  our  fellow-men,  to  lend  a  help- 
ing hand,  and  that  right  speedily.  A  pious  person,  writing  from 
the  continent,  makes  this  statement :  ''  Much  that  has  come  be- 
fore us  of  late  shows  how  rapidly  things  are  classified — how  all 
men  are  ranging  themselves  under  their  respective  banners — all 
watching  for  the  morning,  the  one  for  the  Lord,  and  the  other  for 
Lucifer.^'  While  some  are  looking  for  Christ,  the  pantheists  of 
Germany  are  looking  for  what  they  call  "  the  coming  man,''  the 
incarnation  or  personation  of  intellect,  a  human  Grod.  The  beauty 
of  the  gospel  is,  that  Grod  was  made  man  -,  the  error  of  panthe- 
ism is,  that  man  is  believed  to  be  made  God.  The  former  was 
real ;  the  latter  is  a  mockery. 

I  have  shown  you,  then,  kingdom  rushing  from  kingdom ;  one 
detached  from  another,  and  all  left  unsettled.  If  you  were  to 
look  into  churches,  you  would  see  the  same  thing;  fragments 
flying  off  from  one  church  ;  larger  fragments  from  another  church  ] 
and  the  parties  standing  by,  and  seeming  to  enjoy  the  rending, 
themselves  being  rent  in  turn.  This  is  the  very  age  of  breaking 
up — the  age  of  crushing,  of  destroying,  of  rending — the  age,  in 
short,  of  the  "  stone"  smiting  the  ten  toes,  and  grinding  to  pow- 
der the  kingdoms  of  this  world. 

What  would  also  confirm  that  which  I  have  now  been  stating 
is,  that  it  seems,  from  the  language  employed,  to  synchronize 
with  the  description  of  the  seventh  vial  given  by  John.  ''  The 
seventh  angel  poured  his  vial  into  the  air."  That  I  have  already 
explained  to  you.  You  have  the  air  physically  and  morally 
tainted.  I  told  you  in  Exeter  Hall  in  1847,  before  the  vial  was 
poured  out,  that  the  effects  would  be,  whenever  it  came,  if  the 
principle  of  interpretation  I  thought  to  be  true  was  correct,  a 
taint  of  the  air  with  a  physical  or  pestilential  taint,  and  the  de- 
terioration of  public  opinion,  sentiment,  and  belief,  by  deadly 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE    SMITING    THE    IMAGE.  95 

and  destructive  principles.  '^And  there  came  a  great  voice  out 
of  the  temple  of  heaven  from  the  throne,  saying,  It  is  done.'' 
Then,  what  takes  place  ?  "  There  were  voices'^ — who  has  not 
heard  the  voices  that  have  been  sounding  over  Europe  for  the  last 
three  years,  in  all  shapes  and  forms? — "and  thunders  and  light- 
nings ;  and  there  was  a  great  earthquake."  As  I  told  you,  every 
newspaper  said,  that  1848  was  the  year  of  earthquakes.  An 
earthquake  shook  all  the  ten  kingdoms  till  they  reeled  and  totter- 
ed, as  if  about  to  issue  in  their  final  destruction.  "And  the 
great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  na- 
tions fell ;  and  great  Babylon  came  in  remembrance  before  God'' 
— the  popedom  is  now  being  visited  and  scourged,  as  the  begin- 
ning of  its  utter  and  thorough  destruction.  If  this,  then,  syn- 
chronizes with  the  seventh  vial,  you  have  still  more  confirmatory 
evidence — or  rather,  other  language  illustrative,  still  more  forci- 
bly, by  its  symbols,  of  the  period  at  which  we  are  now  arrived. 

If  it  synchronizes  with  the  seventh  vial,  it  would  also  syn- 
chronize with  what  our  blessed  Lord  has  told  us  in  Matthew, 
(this  is  before  the  coming  of  Christ:)  "Immediately  after  the 
tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun"  (used  to  denote  imperial 
power)  "be  darkened,  and  the  moon"  (either  a  lesser  civil  power, 
or  the  ecclesiastical)  "shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars"  (or 
rulers  in  the  church)  "  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of 
the  heaven  shall  be  shaken :  and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of 
the  Son  of  man  in  heaven :  and  then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the 
earth  mourn,  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory." 

And  if  it  synchronizes  with  this,  it  will  also  synchronize  with 
other  predictions  in  the  37th  and  38th  chapters  of  Ezekiel: 
"  Thou  shalt  ascend  and  come  like  a  storm,  thou  shalt  be  like  a 
cloud  to  cover  the  land,  thou,  and  all  thy  bands,  and  many  peo- 
ple with  thee."  There  is  a  series  of  predictions  in  these  chap- 
ters of  Ezekiel  revealing  judgments  that  were  to  take  place  in 
the  latter  days — the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  glory  of  the 
Gentiles — which  you  can  read  at  your  leisure. 

It  appears,  then,  that  just  before  the  advent  of  the  Lord, 
there  is  to  be  the  vial  poured  into  the  air,  the  thunder,  the 
lightning,  the  great  earthc|uake,  and  Babylon,  the  Romish  apos- 


96  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

tasy,  coming  into  remembrance  before  God; — secondly,  to  use 
the  words  of  our  Lord,  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  darkening, 
the  heavens  covered  as  with  a  sackcloth,  and  men's  hearts  fail- 
ing them  for  fear  of  the  things  that  are  coming  upon  the  earth; 
and  thirdly — to  quote  the  imagery  of  Daniel — that  the  great 
stone  (beyond  all  dispute,  the  Saviour)  cut  out  without  hands,  is 
to  smite  the  image,  and  break  it  in  pieces,  till  it  becomes  like 
the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floor,  swept  to  and  fro  by  the 
wind,  and  carried  away,  so  that  no  place  should  be  ultimately 
found  for  it;  and  this  stone,  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  whom 
men  would  not  have  as  their  foundation,  becomes  a  great  moun- 
tain, and  fills  the  whole  earth.  Every  one  who  looks  abroad,  as 
I  have  told  you,  sees  what  I  may  call  the  presumptive  evidence 
of  these  things.  You  have  only  to  look  at  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope to  see  that  they  want  the  great  cohesive  element  of  living, 
scriptural  religion.  No  society  can  stand  unless  it  be  pervaded 
and  knit  together  by  the  cement  of  a  living  Christianity.  The 
strength  of  Britain  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  depth  of  Britain's 
Christianity.  The  stability  of  our  throne  rests  upon  the  Chris- 
tianity of  our  population.  Never  let  it  be  forgotten,  that  the 
despised  Scripture  reader,  and  humble  city  missionary,  in  the 
dens  and  alleys,  and  subterranean  cellars  of  this  great  metropolis, 
are  contributing  (the  great  men  of  the  world  may  not  see  it,  but 
Christian  men  feel  it)  to  the  stability  of  our  most  gracious 
queen's  throne,  to  the  splendour  of  her  crown,  and  to  the  glory 
and  greatness  of  this  great  empire.  It  is  by  religion  that  a  na- 
tion stands;  and  in  the  absence  of  it  a  hundred  thousand  bayo- 
nets are  not  stronger  than  a  hundred  thousand  straws — as  Louis 
Philippe,  in  his  own  experience,  can  tell  you;  and  with  that  reli- 
gion in  a  nation's  heart,  it  needs  few  battalions  round  the  throne, 
or  soldiers  to  maintain  and  to  defend  it.  There  is  a  defence  in 
the  midst  of  us  mightier  than  all — the  glory  of  the  Lord,  our 
refuge  and  our  strength,  and  our  present  help  in  time  of  trouble. 
But  with  the  nations  of  the  earth,  every  one  sees  that  there  is 
no  chance  of  their  keeping  together.  All  their  constitutions  are 
carnal.  They  are  merely  being  patched  up;  the  evil  day  is,  as 
it  were,  staved  off.  Who  does  not  see,  who  has  the  least  know- 
ledge of  what  is  going  on,  that  the  kingdoms  of  Europe — the 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE   SMITING   THE   IMAGE.  97 

ten  kingdoms — are  kept  down  and  quieted  purely  by  manage- 
ment? Like  an  old  rain,  they  are  propped  up;  like  a  diseased 
body,  they  are  kept  in  life  by  medicine;  but  the  props  will  fall; 
the  medicine  will  lose  its  power;  and  then  will  come,  as  Metter- 
nich  prophesied,  '^  the  deluge,  desolation,  destruction,  ruin/' 

Seeing,  then,  that  the  gold  and  the  silver,  and  the  brass,  and 
the  iron  and  clay — all  these  things  must  be  dissolved — Babylon, 
Medo-Persia,  Macedonia,  G^reece,  the  Koman  Empire,  and  the 
ten  kingdoms — let  me  ask  this  question  of  you — a  question  that 
has  been  asked  for  1800  years — ^'What  manner  of  persons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness,  looking  for, 
and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  wherein  the 
heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat?''  Reading  the  handwriting  of  doom 
upon  the  walls  of  palaces,  and  upon  the  face  of  thrones;  hear- 
ing the  successive  crashes  of  nations  booming  over  sea  and  land, 
as  if  they  were  the  trumps  of  judgment,  spared  as  we  are,  in  a 
momentary  lull  when  all  seems  quiet,  only  that  the  forces  may 
muster  for  the  more  terrific  havoc  that  is  to  come;  standing  on  a 
part  of  the  earth  toward  which  earthquakes  seem  to  roll,  and  yet, 
by  a  divine  protection,  seem  successively  to  be  repelled; — how 
earnestly  should  we  examine  ourselves, — how  should  we  think 
of  our  state  before  God, — how  should  we  try  to  anticipate,  from 
the  knowledge  of  our  hearts,  as  reflected  from  God's  Holy  "Word, 
where  we  shall  stand  when  the  last  crash  shall  come,  and  the 
Son  of  man,  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  shall  cover  the  sky 
with  an  unearthly  splendour,  and  all  men  shall,  for  one  brief 
period,  enjoy  a  dreadful,  suspensive,  trembling  pause,  anxious  to 
know,  "  shall  we  stand  at  the  right  hand  or  at  the  left  hand  of 
the  Judge?"  ^'Seeing  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what 
manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be?" 

But  does  not  a  retrospect  of  this  image,  which  represented  to 
Daniel  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  tell  us  how  to  estimate 
these  kingdoms?  Riches — what  are  they?  Fragments  of  the 
golden  head;  mere  filings  of  the  silver  breast  and  of  the  silver 
arms;  possessed,  indeed,  of  currency  below,  but  destitute  of  any 
currency  where  Christ  and  our  inheritance  are.  And  what,  after 
all,  is  earthly  rank?     It  is  merely  a  foothold  upon  the  iron  legs; 


9 


98  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

or,  if  a  higher  rank^  upon  the  thighs  of  brass;  or,  if  a  higher 
still,  upon  the  silver  arm;  and  the  highest  rank  in  the  land  is 
merely  seated  on  the  golden  head.  And  when  we  know  that  the 
golden  head,  and  silver  arm,  and  belly  of  brass,  and  legs  of  iron, 
and  toes  of  clay,  shall  be  all  smashed  to  pieces  by  that  Stone,  scat- 
tered like  chaff  upon  the  summer  threshing-floor,  oh!  how  pale 
does  all  earthly  rank  become — how  poor  does  all  worldly  gran- 
deur appear — how  little  worthy  of  a  people's  love — how  little  en- 
titled to  a  nation's  anxiety!  What  a  call  to  us  to  think  of  the 
*^  unsearchable  riches'^  that  moth  cannot  corrupt — to  think  of  the 
^'honour  that  cometh  from  God" — to  think,  and  secure  while 
we  think  of  a  foothold,  not  upon  the  leg  of  iron,  nor  belly  of 
brass,  nor  arm  of  silver,  nor  head  of  gold,  but  a  foothold  on  the 
Rock  of  ages,  which  shall  become  one  day  ^^a  great  mountain,'^ 
and  shall  "fill  the  whole  earth. '^  Blessed  hope!  brilliant  pros- 
pect! As  it  was  told  by  David,  in  the  72d  Psalm,  "His  name 
shall  endure  for  ever :"  it  shall  last  like  the  sun.  The  names  ol 
Calvin,  of  Luther,  of  Knox,  of  Wesley,  and  Whitefield,  and 
other  names  that  may  be  musical  to  our  ears,  shall  all  be  hushed, 
and  the  name  of  Christ  alone  shall  endure  audible  for  ever.  All 
nations  shall  bless  him,  and  all  nations  shall  be  blessed  in  him; 
and  when  that  Stone  has  been  turned  into  this  great  mountain, 
and  when  the  whole  earth  shall  be  covered  by  that  mountain, 
then  shall  be  the  era  of  the  triumph  of  the  catholic,  or  the  uni- 
versal, and  the  true  church;  that  mountain-brow  basking  in  per- 
petual sunshine;  and  around  that  mighty  mountain  that  fills  the 
whole  earth  shall  bo  successive  belts,  like  bright  zones,  of  ador- 
ing and  worshipping  companies,  that  say  and  sing,  "Unto  him 
that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  our  Grod;  to  him  be  glory  for 
ever  and  ever."  Glorious  structure,  beautiful  and  holy  home, 
sublime  cathedral,  happy  rest,  for  the  holy  and  happy  people  of 
God!  No  hospitals  will  be  there,  for  there  shall  be  no  sick;  no 
graves  shall  be  dug  in  it,  for  death  shall  be  destroyed;  no  sor- 
row, nor  sighing  nor  tears;  but  the  church  catholic,  apostolic, 
holy,  blessed,  for  ever  and  ever, — Christ  their  King,  and  none 
known  by  any  other  name  than  Christians,  the  anointed  subjects 
of  the  great  King. 


THE   MYSTIC   STONE   SMITING  THE    IMAGE.  99 

My  dear  friends,  some  men  quarrel  with  the  study  of  prophe- 
cy. I  have  learned  more  since  I  began  to  study  it  thoroughly 
than  ever  I  learned  before.  I  do  not  say  that  these  simple 
truths  are  denied  by  ministers  of  the  gospel,  but  certainly  they 
are  not  studied.  They  say,  ^' We  do  not  like  to  study  these  sub- 
jects." They  even  boast  of  their  good  sense  in  skipping  the 
Book  of  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse.  Alas !  for  such  unprotestant 
preachers.  Whatever  God  has  written,  it  is  surely  worth  our 
trouble  to  study;  and  if  we  commit  an  error  here  and  there, 
charity  will  forgive  it,  and  God  will  forgive  it  for  the  sake  of  the 
great  tmths  that  are  beside  it.  This  I  have  learned  ever  since  I 
studied  these  truths :  I  have  learned  less  and  less  to  value  those 
distinctions  of  church  and  dissent,  of  episcopacy  and  independ- 
ency and  presbytery;  and  to  feel  more  and  more  their  utter 
insignificance  in  comparison  with  that  glory  that  streams  from 
the  better  land,  and  shows  me  that,  in  the  sight  of  God,  in  the 
cycle  of  eternity,  there  are  but  two  classes — the  lost,  in  hell,  who 
have  clung  to  Antichrist,  and  the  saved,  in  heaven,  with  whom 
Christ  has  been  all  and  in  all.  ■ 

The  future  !  cruel  were  the  power 
Whose  doom  would  tear  thee  from  my  heart; 

Thou  sweetener  of  the  present  hour, 
We  cannot — no — we  will  not  part ! 

Then  haste  thee,  Time — 'tis  kindness  all, 

That  speeds  thy  winged  feet  so  fast 
Thy  pleasures  stay  not  till  they  pall; 

And  all  thy  pains  are  quickly  past. 

Thou  fliest  and  bcar'st  away  our  woes; 

And  as  the  shadowy  trains  depart, 
The  memory  of  sorrow  grows 

A  lighter  burden  on  the  heart. 


100 


LECTURE  yill. 


THE    KINGDOM    OF   GOD. 

"  Thou,  0  king,  sawest,  and  behold  a  great  image.  This  great  image,  whose 
brightness  was  excellent,  stood  before  theej  and  the  form  thereof  was  terrible. 
This  image's  head  was  of  fine  gold,  his  breast  and  his  arms  of  silver,  his  belly 
and  his  thighs  of  brass,  his  legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay. 
Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote  the 
image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then 
was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  to  pieces  to- 
gether, and  became  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors;  and  the 
wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was  found  for  them :  and  the  stone  that 
smote  the  image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth.  This  is 
the  dream  ,•  and  we  v/ill  tell  the  interpretation  thereof  before  the  king.  Thou, 
0  king,  art  a  king  of  kings  :  for  the  God  of  heaven  hath  given  thee  a  kingdom, 
power,  and  strength,  and  glory.  And  wheresoever  the  children  of  men  dwell, 
the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  hath  he  given  into  thine 
hand,  and  hath  made  thee  ruler  over  them  all.  Thou  art  this  head  of  gold. 
And  after  thee  shall  arise  another  kingdom  inferior  to  thee,  and  another  third 
kingdom  of  brass,  which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth.  And  the  fourth 
kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron :  forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in  pieces  and 
subdueth  all  things :  and  as  iron  that  breaketh  all  these,  shall  it  break  in 
pieces  and  bruise.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  the  feet  and  toes,  part  of  potter's 
clay,  and  part  of  iron,  the  kingdom  shall  be  divided;  but  there  shall  be  in  it  of 
the  strength  of  the  -iron,  forasmuch  as  thou  sawest  the  iron  mixed  with  miry 
clay.  And  as  the  toes  of  the  feet  were  part  of  iron,  and  part  of  clay,  so  the 
kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong,  and  partly  broken.  And  whereas  thou  sawest 
iron  mixed  with  miry  clay,  they  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the  seed  of  men: 
but  they  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,  even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay. 
And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom, 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed  :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  peo- 
ple, but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall 
stand  for  ever." — Daniel  ii.  31-4:-i. 

Time  would  foil  me  were  I  to  attempt  to  recapitulate  what  I 
have  preached  on  the  portion  of  Scripture  which  I  have  now  read. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that  I  showed  that  the  head  of 
gold  was  the  Babylonian  kingdom — the  first  supreme  and  univer- 
sal sovereignty  that  then  existed  upon  earth;  that  the  breast  and 


THE    KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  101 

arms  of  silver  we  could  have  no  difficulty  in  defining  to  be  the 
Medo-Persian  kingdom — the  breast  denoting  its  monarch,  and 
the  two  arms,  Media  and  Persia,  united  in  him,  and  constituting 
one  kingdom;  that  the  belly  and  thighs  of  brass  represented  the 
next  succeeding  universal  kingdom,  the  Grrajco-Macedonians,  or 
the  Macedonian  Greeks,  known  in  classic  story  as  the  ''brass- 
covered  Greeks,^^  who,  first  under  Philip,  and  next,  and  com- 
pletely, under  his  son  Alexander,  swept  the  earth,  and  subdued 
every  kingdom  under  their  powerful  sceptre.  I  also  showed,  by 
irresistible  proofs  drawn  from  Gibbon,  and  from  historians  whose 
testimony  in  this  matter  must  be  regarded  as  dispassionate,  that 
the  fourth  kingdom,  the  fourth  in  succession,  and  the  only  suc- 
ceeding kingdom  that  had  absolute  and  universal  sovereignty, 
was  the  iron  kingdom  of  Rome,  or  the  Roman  empire.  Now, 
this  is  not  mere  conjecture.  I  ask  you  to  point  out  to  me,  in 
past  history,  any  other  four  successive  kingdoms  each  of  which 
was  in  its  day  mistress  of  the  globe,  as  far  as  the  globe  was  then 
known.  There  have  been  but  four  universal  empires — the  four 
I  have  stated — each  sovereign  and  supreme  in  its  sway,  and  each 
displaced  by  its  successor.  The  last  of  these,  the  Roman  em- 
pire, which  was  of  iron,  subdued  and  ground  to  pieces  all  the 
kingdoms  that  preceded  it.  I  showed  you  also,  by  comparisons 
with  the  Book  of  Revelation,  and  subsequent  passages  in  the 
prophecy  of  Daniel,  to  which  I  will  refer  you,  that,  as  the  two 
feet  of  the  image  were  divided  into  ten  toes,  the  Roman  empire 
might  be  expected,  if  the  prophecy  were  true,  to  be  divided  into 
ten  kingdoms.  If  you  will  open  any  history  of  any  school  or 
creed,  you  will  find  it  stated  that  the  Roman  empire  was  thus 
divided  into  ten  kingdoms  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century;  this  is 
matter  of  universal  admission.  Strange  enough,  ever  since  that 
division  took  place — now  some  fourteen  hundred  years  ago — the 
ten  kingdoms  which  I  specified  by  name,  are  seen,  in  every  cen- 
tury, more  or  less  clearly  to  cast  up.  Were  they  to  cast  up  the 
same  in  limits  and  geographical  extent  in  every  century,  prophe- 
cy would  not  be  fulfilled;  because  the  prediction  is  that  they 
would  try  to  ''mingle  with  the  seed  of  men;^'  that  is,  there 
should  be  efforts  made  to  compress,  to  consolidate,  to  jumble 
them;  in  other  words,  destroy — though  not  intentionally — God's 

9* 


102  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

prediction,  and  make  tliem  cease  to  be  wliat  God  has  declared 
they  long  shall  be — numerically  and  clearly  ten.  Now,  it  is  a 
fact,  that  ever  since  the  division  into  ten,  successive  rulers  have 
tried  to  amalgamate  them  into  one  great  universal  empire;  and 
in  each  instance  they  have  found  that  the  word  of  the  Almighty 
was  stronger  than  the  sword  of  Co3sar,  of  Charlemagne,  or  of  Na- 
poleon, or  of  any  other  ambitious  prince  or  soldier  that  made  the 
experiment.  Again  and  again  marriages  have  been  made  among 
the  ten  kings.  The  most  powerful  effort,  and  the  nearest  to  suc- 
cessful, was  made  by  Napoleon,  when  he  allied  himself  to  the 
house  of  Austria.  He  controlled  the  most  gallant,  the  bravest, 
the  most  active  nation  on  i\\h  continent  of  Europe.  Europe 
seemed  to  lie  prostrate  at  his  feet,  ready  to  accept  his  sovereign- 
ty; the  cup  of  universal  empire  was  almost  at  his  lips;  but  God 
had  destined  it  otherwise,  and  expressly  said  it  should  be  other- 
wise, 600  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  more  than  2000 
years  before  Napoleon  was  born.  The  waters  of  the  Borodino 
engulphed  his  invincible  battalions,  and  the  snows  of  Russia  be- 
came winding-sheets  to  half  his  army,  and  the  bones  of  the  rest, 
bleaching  or  buried  on  the  plains  of  Waterloo,  tell  how  feeble  is 
the  might  of  man,  and  how  lasting  is  the  truth  of  God. 

But  we  are  told  that  in  the  time  of  these  ten  kingdoms,  into 
which  the  Roman  empire  was  to  be  divided,  the  God  of  heaven 
shoukl  set  up  a  kingdom  which  should  never  be  destroyed.  Now, 
this  cannot  be  the  commencement  of  Christianity  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  ago,  because  it  is  said  that  God  wouki  set  up  this  king- 
dom subsequent  to  the  division  of  the  empire  into  ten  kingdoms; 
assuredly  he  will  yet  set  up  this  kingdom  in  all  its  grandeur, 
completeness,  and  sovereignty;  and  between  the  ruin  of  the  ten 
kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire  and  the  culminating  glory  of  the 
Christian  kingdom  there  shall  be  nothing  intervening.  This  last 
and  universal  sovereignty  of  the  Christian  kingdom  was  to  be  the 
result  of  another  fact:  that  a  "stone  cut  out  without  hands" 
(which  I  showed  by  comparison  to  be  the  Lord  Jesus)  was,  not 
gradually  to  leaven,  but  suddenly  to  smite  the  ten  kingdoms.  You 
will  notice  that  the  stone,  which  was  Christ,  ("  to  whom  coming, 
as  unto  a  I  icing  .stone,  disallowed  indeed  of  men,  but  chosen  and 
precious,")  was  to  smite  the  image  in  its  tenfold  division  state. 


THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  103 

It  was  not  to  smite  it  in  the  time  of  its  golden  head^  nor  in  the 
time  of  its  silver  breast,  nor  in  the  time  of  its  brass  thighs,  nor 
in  the  time  of  its  iron  limbs ;  but  when  the  iron  limbs  should  be 
divided  into  ten  toes,  partly  clay  and  partly  iron.  This  stone  was 
suddenly  to  fall  upon  the  ten  kingdoms,  and  to  split  them  into 
atoms,  and  scatter  them  as  chaff  is  driven  and  scattered  upon  the 
summer  threshing-floor.  I  showed  you,  by  two  or  three  simple 
facts,  that  it  seems  as  if  the  blows  of  that  stone  were  at  this  mo- 
ment reverberating  throughout  the  continent  of  Europe.  Who 
can  fail  to  see  kingdom  after  kingdom — without  any  explanation 
of  the  why — without  any  preconcerted  scheme,  or  plan,  or  con- 
spiracy, that  will  account  for  the  result — suddenly  broken  to 
atoms  ?  And  if  great  statesmen  are  to  be  believed,  whose  saga- 
city is  generally  the  nearest  thing  to  prophecy,  never  was  the 
continent  of  Europe  at  this  moment  in  a  more  unsettled  state. 
The  stone  seemed  first  to  have  smitten  France ;  and  left  that  mo- 
narch, who  fell  asleep  with  a  hundred  thousand  bayonets  bristling 
around  him,  a  refugee  and  an  exile  on  the  rise  of  to-morrow's  sun. 
The  stone  then  struck  Austria;  and  its  monarch  was  an  exile 
among  the  Swiss.  It  next  struck  Germany;  and  even  that  giant 
empire  reeled  and  staggered  under  the  blow.  The  stone  then 
struck  Italy;  the  pope  was  driven  from  his  throne;  and  the 
'^ three  horns'^  that  belonged  to  him — "the  three  states  of  the 
Church" — part  of  the  ten — are  at  this  moment  substantially 
severed  from  him.  I  was  told  by  a  Eoman  refugee,  soon  after 
this,  that  the  prospect  of  his  ever  wielding  the  temporal  sove- 
reignty over  that  people  is  remoter  at  this  moment  than  ever. 
And,  as  if  the  very  elements  were  sustaining  men  in  their  efforts 
to  destroy  him — not  the  man  Pius  IX.,  but  the  personation,  the 
head,  the  representative  of  Babylon — we  find,  that  no  sooner  was 
he  settled  in  his  recent  place  of  retirement,  than  the  earthquake 
rocked  the  soil,  and  Vesuvius  burst  out  with  preternatural  fury; 
and  the  pope  himself,  who  fled  from  his  people  a  year  ago,  was 
flying  from  the  burning  element;'''  as  if  the  foretokens  of  the  pre- 

"•••■  "  Tbat  which  nothing  else  has  been  able  to  effect,  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius 
has  effected,  the  flight,  or  rather  the  removal  of  the  pope.  It  is  only,  however, 
to  the  palace  on  Capo  di  Monte, -where  he  can  enjoy  the  magnificent  scenes  no^v 
being  exhibited  on  Vesuvius  Avithout  trembling  at  the  dreadful  roaring  of  the 


104  PROPHETIC   STUDIi:S. 

dieted  downfall  of  Babylon  were  accumulating  and  thickening 
every  day.  When  I  read  this  fact  in  the  papers,  it  reminded 
me  of  what  Mr.  Elliot  has  shown  will  be  the  nature  and  agent 
of  the  destruction  of  Babylon.  His  belief  is — and  Scripture 
leads  him  to  this  conclusion — that  that  gigantic  despotismj  which 
has  made  slaves  of  the  free  and  martyrs  of  the  holy,  and  out  of 
which  there  is  only  escape  for  such  men  as  Achilli,  when  the 
power  of  our  country  and  that  of  France  are  made  to  tell  upon 
the  fears  of  the  guardians  of  its  despotism — is  to  be  literally 

mountain,  and  witliout  fear  of  being  overwhelmed.  I  hear  nothing,  however, 
of  a  more  distant  flight.  Cardinal  Dupont  is  still  here,  and  the  steamer,  the 
Vaiiban,  which  brought  him,  waits  in  port.  Arrests  still  continue  here,  and  I 
hear  that,  last  night,  a  terribly  large  batch  was  seized  and  sent  off  to  prison — 
some  say  twenty-seven  men  of  birth  and  respectability.  Mr.  Brown,  an  Ame- 
rican, formerly  consul  at  Rome,  has  been  ordered  to  quit  Naples  within  forty- 
eight  hours,  whereupon  an  indignant  and  angry  correspondence  has  taken  place 
between  the  American  charge  d'affaires  and  the  Neapolitan  government.  As 
yet  I  know  not  if,  or  how,  it  has  terminated. 

"  I  must  not  forget  to  inform  you  of  the  state  of  Vesuvius.  For  a  week,  we 
have  now  enjoyed  the  most  splendid  eruption  which  has  taken  place  for  many 
years.  The  ashes  have  been  carried  as  far,  we  know,  as  twenty  miles,  and,  no 
doubt,  much  farther.  The  lava  descends  in  two  streams  upon  Ottajano,  where 
it  has  destroyed  a  palace  and  much  land  belonging  to  a  nobleman  of  that  name, 
and  another  toward  Torri  deli  Annunziata,  while  the  flames  and  the  immense 
masses  of  rock  which  arc  ejected,  form,  at  night,  a  splendid  and  terrific  spec- 
tacle. The  roaring  of  the  mountain  on  Saturday  night  last  was  such  as  to 
disturb  the  whole  country  for  miles  round,  and  here  in  Naples  our  windows 
shook  with  every  repetition  of  it,  which  was  unceasing  night  and  day.  Im- 
mense crowds,  of  course,  walk  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  bay  to  get  a  nearer 
view;  religious  processions  are  moving  about,  for  the  intercession  of  the  Ma- 
donna and  the  saints ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  pope  is  to  perform  some  ceremo- 
nial to  cause  the  mountain  to  stay  its  ruinous  proceedings.  I  am  sorry  to  add 
that  the  accidents  to  those  who  went  over  have  been  very  sad.  On  Saturday 
night  a  young  Pole  was  struck  in  the  leg  by  a  burning  stone,  which  cut  through 
the  limb,  and  he  died  on  the  mountain  from  loss  of  blood.  A  young  American 
ofiicer  was  struck  in  the  arm,  which  hung  suspended  by  a  bit  of  flesh.  On  his 
arrival  in  Naples  he  had  lost  so  much  blood  that  an  amputation  could  not  take 
place,  and  as  no  reaction  has  up  to  this  time  taken  place,  it  is  not  expected 
that  he  can  live.  A  gendarme  is  also  reported  killed,  and  two  men  who  had 
fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  eruption  were  said  to  have  been  buried  yesterday  at 
Portici.  Some  anxiety  has  been  felt  for  an  Englishman  and  his  wife  who  had 
not  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  mountain;  and  yet  crowds  roll  on  night  and 
day  to  see  this  wonderful  phenomenon.  From  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
mountain  all  the  inhabitants  have  fled,  and  the  powder  from  the  magazine  at 
Torre  has  neon  removed." — C(>rrc'i2^ond(^iif  of  tlic  Daili/  Kcics.     (April,  1S50.) 


THE  KlNGDO:\I    OF    GOD.  105 

burned  with  fire,  and  that  there  are  volcanic  elements  enough  iu 
Italy,  not  only  to  account  for,  but  to  lead  us  to  expect,  so  terrible 
and  so  consuming  a  catastrophe.  We  wait :  the  only  concern  we 
have  in  the  prospect  of  her  catastrophe  is :  ^'  Come  out  of  her,  my 
people,  that  ye  partake  not  of  her  sins,  and  receive  not  of  her 
plagues.''  I  believe  those  who  hold  what  are  called  Tractarian 
views  are  partaking  of  the  sins  of  Babylon,  and  that  they  will 
perish  in  her  ruin  unless  they  repent.  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  man  more  and  more  to  protest  against  the  system,  and 
whatever  be  his  love  to  its  victims — and  that  love  cannot  be  too 
intense,  and  he  cannot  speak  the  word  of  truth  in  too  much  love 
— to  speak  of  it  as  Grod  speaks  to  it,  and  himself  to  take  care 
that  he  share  in  none  of  her  sins ;  and  so  shall  he  not  suffer  any 
of  her  plagues. 

Having,  then,  reviewed  the  whole  of  my  statement  on  the  great 
image,  I  now  proceed  to  notice  the  kingdom  that  is  here  stated 
to  succeed  the  other  kingdoms,  to  cover  the  whole  earth,  and  never 
to  be  moved.  This  kingdom  is  composed,  first,  of  principles ; 
next,  of  persons :  both  now  imperfect,  but  by-and-by  to  be  made 
perfect  in  glory. 

First  of  all,  it  is  composed  of  principles.  The  Spirit  of  God 
says — "  The  kingdom  of  Grod  is  not  meat  nor  drink,  but  righte- 
ousness, peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.''  Here  you  have  this 
kingdom  in  its  essential  and  constituent  principles.  Before  un- 
folding these,  let  me  first  notice  its  negative  aspect. 

^'  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  nor  drink."  In  other  words, 
nothing  merely  ceremonial  constitutes  the  kingdom  of  God.  The 
ceremonies  may  be  too  many,  or  they  may  be  too  few — they  may 
be  very  brilliant,  or  they  may  be  very  bald — they  may  please  the 
senses,  or  gratify  only  the  intellect :  it  is  of  no  consequence. 
These  things  do  not  form  a  vital  part  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Nothing,  in  the  next  place,  that  is  merely  ritual  constitutes  this 
kingdom.  ^'  It  is  not,"  says  the  apostle,  "  meat  nor  drink." 
There  may  be  rubrics,  or  there  may  be  none — you  may  fost,  or 
■  you  may  feast — j^ou  may  kneel  at  prayer,  or  you  may  stand — you 
may  kneel  at  the  communion-table,  or  you  may  sit — the  minister 
may  wear  a  silk  gown,  or  a  surplice,  or  neither ;  he  may  preach 
without  notes,  or  he  may  preach  with  them ;  these  are  matters  of 


106  rRoriiETiG  studies. 

ceremony  evanescent  as  the  clouds;  the  great  truths  beyond  and 
beneath  them  are,  like  the  stars,  fixed  and  beautiful  for  ever. 
This  kingdom  is  not  described  by  any  fixed  and  clearly  specified 
ecclesiastical  regime.  The  church  may  be  governed  by  bishops, 
or  it  may  be  governed  by  presbyters,  or  it  may  be  governed  by 
the  people ;  it  may  be  episcopal,  presbyterial,  or  congregational ; 
it  may  be  favoured  by  the  state,  or  it  may  be  free  from  it;  it  may 
be  endowed  by  the  state,  or  supported  by  the  people ;  it  may  be  a 
very  imperfect  church,  or  the  most  perfect  church  of  all ; — these 
are  matters  that  may  be  of  less  or  greater  advantage  to  the  king- 
dom, but  they  are  not,  of  necessity,  essentials  to  the  very  exist- 
ence of  the  kingdom )  and  if  men  only  felt  this  more,  they  would 
labour  less  to  reform  the  mere  externals,  and  labour  more  to  plant 
in  the  heart  and  impress  on  the  people  the  vital  and  essential  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel.  The  true  way  to  get  a  church  perfect  is  to 
try  to  have  perfect  men  to  compose  it.  The  purity  of  the  govern- 
ment of  a  church  will  always  be  in  the  direct  ratio  of  the  piety 
of  the  people  that  constitute  that  church.  If  we  prayed  more 
and  quarrelled  less,  and  each  in  his  sphere  did  the  work  that 
devolved  upon  him  more  heartily,  there  would  be  far  greater  suc- 
cess in  promoting  the  gospel — in  vindicating  the  honour  of  God 
— in  winning  souls.  Far  preferable  would  this  be  to  any  eiforts 
to  improve  the  outworks,  or  to  alter  its  constitution,  or  to  change 
its  robes,  its  ceremonies,  and  its  rites.  Never  forget  that  the 
citadel  of  a  church's  strength  is  not  outward,  but  inward  Chris- 
tianity. Vital  forces  are  in  each  individual  heart ;  not  in  bishop, 
presbytery,  or  people.  Thus,  then,  no  one  outward  government 
is  specified  as  an  essential  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is 
not  ^'  Lord,  Lord,^'  but  being  Christian ;  it  is  not  creeds,  or  fasts, 
or  incense,  or  genuflexion  ]  it  is  not  the  voluntary  system,  nor  the  • 
establishment;  it  is  not  beads,  nor  holy  water;  it  is  not  dipping, 
nor  sprinkling ;  it  is  not  kneeling,  nor  standing ;  it  is  not  Geri- 
zim,  nor  Sinai ;  '^  neither  on  this  mountain,"  nor  on  that;  ''the 
kingdom  of  God  is  neither  meat  nor  drink,"  nor  ceremony,  nor 
form,  ''but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  positive  side  of  this  kingdom,  or  the 
constituent  and  normal  elements  of  that  kingdom  which  is  to 
supersede  all,  and  rise  in  beauty  and  glory  when  other  kingdoms 


THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  107 

have  passed  away.  It  is  composed,  first,  of  "  rigliteousness." 
What  is  this  righteousness  ?  It  is  twofold  :  there  is  a  righteous- 
ness without  us,  by  which  we  are  justified;  and  there  is  a 
righteousness  within  us,  by  which  we  are  sanctified.  The  first  is 
the  act  of  God's  free  grace;  the  second  is  the  icorh  of  God's 
Holy  SjDirit.  The  righteousness  by  which  we  are  justified  is  as 
perfect  at  the  moment  we  believe  as  it  will  be  when  we  arc 
admitted  into  heaven ;  the  righteousness  by  which  we  are  sancti- 
fied is  day  by  day  growing  in  strength,  in  influence,  in  power, 
until  grace  is  lost  in  glory.  The  first,  or  the  righteousness  by 
which  we  are  justified,  is  imjnifed  to  us;  the  second,  or  the 
righteousness  by  which  we  are  sanctified,  is  imparted  to  us.  The 
first  is  our  title  to  heaven ;  the  second  is  our  fitness  for  heaven. 
This  righteousness,  both  as  imputed  and  imparted — the  act  of 
Christ,  and  the  work  of  the  Spirit — is  an  essential  element  of  that 
kingdom  which  "  is  not  meat  nor  drink,  but  righteousness,  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.''' 

Another  element,  we  are  told,  is  "  peace.''  "  Justified  by  faith, 
we  have  peace  with  God."  There  is  no  peace  real  or  lasting, 
except  the  peace  that  passeth  understanding.  Old  Mr.  Howells 
used  to  say,  "If  you  see  two  dogs  at  peace  with  each  other,  it  is 
the  indirect  evidence  of  the  power  of  the  gospel."  There  would 
be  nothing  but  war,  interminable  and  exterminating,  throughout 
all  society,  but  for  the  direct  or  indirect  influence  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus.  When  we  are  justified  by  faith  in  the  righteousness 
of  Jesus,  we  have  then  peace :  peace  with  God,  for  he  is  our 
father — peace  with  our  conscience,  for  on  it  is  the  reflection  of 
that  Father's  countenance — peace  with  every  man  who  is  a  Chris- 
tian, for  he  is  a  brother — peace  with  every  man  who  is  not  a 
Christian,  for  he  may,  by  grace,  be  made  a  brother :  peace,  not 
indolence ;  not  ease,  in  any  respect,  but  strife — not  self-indulg- 
ence, but  self-sacrifice — not  acquiescence  in  what  is  evil,  for  the 
sake  of  quiet,  but  war  with  what  is  evil,  for  the  sake  of  God — 
not  a  prudential  avoiding  of  quarrels,  but  the  sustained  endeavour 
to  make  all  things  what  grace  has  made  us ;  and  to  feel  our  peace 
increasing  and  flowing  as  a  river,  in  proportion  as  the  gospel  of 
grace  pervades,  and  permeates,  and  leavens  all  arouud  us.     Such 


108  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

is  the  peace  liere  indicated — peace  with  God,  peace  with  conscience, 
and  peace  with  one  another. 

The  third  element,  we  are  tokl,  is  "joy.''  It  began  in  right- 
eousness, it  proceeds  in  peace,  it  culminates  in  joy.  In  other 
words,  the  kingdom  of  God — that  is,  Christianity — is  one-third 
character  and  two-thirds  privilege.  I  have  often  declared,  what 
I  now  repeat,  that  the  gospel  was  inspired,  that  Jesus  died,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  came  down  at  Pentecost,  as  much  to  make  you 
and  me  happy  and  joyful,  as  to  make  you  and  me  righteous  and 
holy.  Nay,  the  very  first  sound  in  that  glorious  message  is 
''  good  news."  For  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  work  gospel  ? 
'^  Good  news."  Instead  of  shrinking  from  that  gospel,  instead 
of  looking  upon  it  as  something  sepulchral  and  awful,  that  will 
dissipate  all  your  joys,  and  dry  up  all  the  currents  of  your 
pleasure,  you  ought  to  know  that  the  main  elements  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  are  peace  and  joy.  I  am  sure,  if  we  confess  at  the 
throne  of  grace  that  the  gospel  has  not  made  us  righteous  as  it 
ought  to  have  done,  we  ought  to  confess  with  equal  sorrow  that  it 
has  not  made  us  happy,  peaceful,  joyful,  as  it  was  meant  to  do. 
If  there  be  any  man  in  this  assembly  who  is  not  a  happy  man, 
it  is  not  because  the  gospel  has  made  him  miserable ;  if  there  be 
any  man  in  this  assembly  who  is  not  a  joyful  man,  it  is  not  be- 
cause the  gospel  is  not  fitted  to  make  him  so ;  but  because  he  is 
cherishing  some  sin  which  acts  like  a  blind  upon  the  gospel  light, 
and  prevents  its  cheering,  its  enlivening,  and  illuminating  beams 
from  entering  into  the  chamber  of  his  soul,  and  there  lighting  up 
perpetual  sunshine.  The  gospel,  then,  is  one-third  character,  and 
two-thirds  privilege  :  not  meat  nor  drink,  nor  form  nor  ceremony, 
about  which  men  fight;  but  "righteousness,  peace,  and  joy." 

How  striking  it  is  that  all  the  quarrels  among  Christians  are 
mostly  about  the  negative  part — about  meat  or  drink.  Now,  if 
they  would  lay  aside  looking  at  the  negative — form,  ceremony, 
fasting,  feasting,  silk  robe  and  surplice,  meat  and  drink,  about 
which  disputes  are  endless,  and  would  look  more  at  "  righteous- 
ness, peace,  and  joy,"  about  which  we  feel  unanimous,  they 
would  find  they  had  left  the  region  of  passion  and  the  arena  of 
conflict,  the  gray  twilight  of  misapprehension ;  and  that  they  were 
in  the  province  of  unity,  amid  th©  air  of  peace,  and  the  lights  of 


THE   KINGDOM    OF    GOD.  109 

joy  where  the  wilderness  rejoices,  and  the  solitary  place  blos- 
soms as  the  rose. 

Having  ascertained  what  this  kingdom  is,  as  God  himself 
has  defined  it,  we  see  what  it  is  that  can  truly  renovate  man- 
kind. Man  has  various  prescriptions:  God  has  but  one.  One 
man  has  a  temperance  society,  and  that  is,  I  dare  say,  good; 
another  has  a  peace  society,  and  that  is  good  enough,  I  sup- 
pose in  its  place;  another  man  has  some  other  society  for  some 
other  object,  and  it  may  be  equally  good.  But  all  these  must 
fail,  however  good  in  design,  however  pretty  in  their  little  spheres 
of  little  working — they  are  toys,  not  quickening  truths.  Men 
will  never  be  truly  temperate,  until  the  grace  of  God  that  teachcth 
to  live  soberly  is  implanted  in  their  hearts ;  and  nations  will  never 
get  peace  by  burning  the  navy  and  reducing  the  army.  One  of 
the  greatest  means,  perhaps,  in  this  sinful  world  of  keeping 
peace  may  be  the  maintenance  of  the  army  and  the  navy;  and 
one  of  the  greatest  blunders,  I  fear,  may  be  found  to  be  the  de- 
stroying or  weakening  of  either.  But  neither  army  nor  navy  are 
the  means  of  creating  peace.  The  only  thing  that  can  make 
peace  is  the  kingdom  of  peace  in  every  man's  conscience,  and  the 
reign  of  the  Prince  of  peace  in  every  king's  kingdom.  When 
the  whole  world  has  become  Christian,  then  will  be  the  time  to  beat 
the  spear  into  the  ploughshare,  but  not  until  then.  Our  Lord 
has  told  us,  "I  am  not  come  to  send  peace  on  earth,  but  a 
sword;"  not  intentionally,  but  necessarily.  The  result  of  holi- 
ness coming  into  contact  with  sin,  peace  coming  into  contact  with 
war,  love  coming  into  contact  with  enmity,  will  be  war,  discord, 
division,  dispute.  x\ll  man's  plans  for  ameliorating  society  fail, 
because  they  touch  merely  the  robes  of  society;  they  d9  not  reach 
its  heart.  Man  would  be  for  manufacturing  peace  and  happiness 
by  machinery :  God,  for  making  happiness  and  peace  by  implant- 
ing within  the  principles  of  the  gospel  of  peace.  Man  hits  upon 
a  scheme ;  God  implants  a  principle.  Man  wants  to  make  duty 
a  soft  lawn,  not  a  battle ;  his  life  sitting  in  an  easy  chair,  not  a 
race  that  he  has  to  run.  Thus  he  proposes  to  reform  society  by 
reforming  its  circumstances,  an  empirical  scheme  which  must 
always  inevitably  fail.  Christianity  proposes  a  revolution  with- 
in, and  then  there  will  be  a  reformation  without.     It  acts  by 

10 


110  rROniETlC   STUDIES. 

mind ;  all  other  schemes  act  by  mechanism.  Man's  plan  is  to 
begin  at  the  circumference,  and  try  to  get  inward;  God's  j^lan  is 
to  begin  at  the  heart,  and  then  carry  power,  principle,  and  re- 
formation outward.  Man's  way  is  to  give  man  something  that  he 
has  not;  Grod's  way  is  to  make  man  something  that  he  is  not. 
Man's  plan  is  to  give  the  patient  a  softer  bed ;  God's  plan  is  to 
cure  the  patient.  The  one  is  weakness,  the  other  is  power.  The 
one  is  the  quackery  of  man ;  the  other  is  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  ^'righteousness,  peace,  and  joy"  in  the  individual  heart;  and 
thus  "righteousness,  peace,  and  joy"  in  universal  society. 

If  this  be  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  it  implanted  in  your  hearts  ? 
However  sure  the  prospect  of  its  universal  sovereignty  may  be — 
however  possible  that  it  may  burst  upon  the  world  like  a  thunder- 
clap ;  yet  it  is  true  that,  day  by  day,  it  is  gaining  power  and  pro- 
gress in  individual  hearts — it  is  advanced  by  means — it  is  ours 
to  use  them.  Day  by  day,  I  solemnly  believe,  all  society  is 
splitting  into  two  grand  sections.  You  will  find  that  all  such 
names  as  Churchmen  and  Dissenters,  Independents,  and  Baptists, 
and  Wesleyans,  et  cetera,  et  cetera,  and  unfortunately  et  cetera 
still,  will  be  lost  in  one  great  phalanx — they  that  are  the  Lord's. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  will  be  another  section  antagonistic  to 
that — Tractarians,  Puseyites,  Papists,  the  Greek  Church,  and  all 
that  hold  the  traditions  of  men — all  passed  over  to  their  side, 
and  under  their  banner,  and  forming  the  phalanx  of  antichrist : 
God's  people  finding  the  centre  of  their  unity  in  Christ ;  they 
that  are  not  God's  people  finding  the  centre  of  their  unity  in 
antichrist.  During  the  heat  of  the  collision,  the  Lord  will  ap- 
pear, and  shine  before  his  ancients  gloriously;  and  after  smiting 
all  the  opposing  kingdoms  of  the  world,  as  the  great  mystic  stone, 
he  will,  in  the  language  of  the  text,  '^  set  up  a  kingdom  that  shall 
never  be  destroyed ;  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all 
these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  for  ever."  I  ask,  my  dear 
friends,  have  you  the  elemental  principle  of  this  kingdom  in  your 
hearts?  In  other  words,  are  you  Christians?  Remember,  if 
there  be  any  valid  excuse  why  you  should  not  be  Christians,  you 
will  never  be  condemned  for  the  want  of  Christianity.  Wherever 
there  is  a  valid  excuse,  there  is  no  duty ;  but  there  is  no  excuse 
in  the  height  or  in  the  depth,  why  every  man  is  this  assembly 


THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  m 

Bliould  notj  this  very  night,  resolve  that  for  him  and  his,  he  will 
serve  the  Lord.  Ail  the  excuses  that  men  make  are  paltry  and 
untenable.  One  says,  "How  liberal  I  would  be,  if  I  had  not 
this  encumbrance."  Another  says,  "  How  religious  I  would  be, 
if  I  were  not  so  busy.'^  Another,  again,  says,  "  How  good  I 
should  be,  if  I  could  only  dispose  of  those  circumstances  which 
trammel  me  at  present,  but  which  by-and-by  will  be  removed.'' 
My  dear  friends,  circumstances  are  to  be  the  servants  of  man ; 
not  man  the  servant  of  circumstances.  We  have  nothing  in  the 
universe  to  do  with  circumstances,  but  to  concjuer  them.  The 
solemnity  of  duty,  the  obligation  of  convictions,  responsibility  to 
Grod,  cannot  wait  till  the  circumstances  around  us  are  adjusted, 
but  must  pass,  like  ploughshares,  through  all  circumstances; 
leaving  scope  for  duty,  none  for  excuse.  I  ask  again,  is  the  king- 
dom of  God  erected  in  your  heart  ?  Do  you  know  what  it  is  to 
have  a  righteousness  to  lean  upon,  so  complete  that  you  would 
not  fear  at  this  moment  to  look  the  Sovereign  Judge  in  the  face, 
and  feel  that  there  is  no  condemnation  for  you  ?  Have  you,  at 
this  moment,  that  peace  which  would  enable  you  to  feel  perfectly 
composed  if  the  earth  were  to  vibrate  beneath  your  feet  by  suc- 
cessive earthquakes,  the  sun  to  become  as  blood,  the  stars  to  foil 
from  their  sockets,  and  the  last  conflagration  to  kindle  on  the 
globe  that  you  tread  upon — would  you  feel  peace  ?  Nay  more, 
in  the  absence  of  all,  in  the  loss  of  the  fruit  of  the  fig-tree — of 
all  the  property  you  have  accumulated — in  the  midst  of  all  losses, 
can  you  say,  "Yea,  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and  joy  in  the 
God  of  my  salvation  ?"  Christianity  is  not  a  mere  creed  that  a 
man  subscribes  to ',  it  is  a  kindling  principle  that  runs  through 
the  whole  of  man's  nature.  Christianity  is  not  a  dogma  for 
schoolmen  to  wrangle  about ;  it  is  a  great,  vital,  personal  expe- 
rience for  each  man  to  feel,  and  for  the  absence  of  which  each 
man  is  responsible.  We  can  all  dispute  about  orthodoxy,  and 
quarrel  about  ceremonies ;  and  the  devil  avails  himself  of  such 
quarrels  to  conceal  and  darken  the  solemn  obligations  to  believe 
in  Jesus,  to  go  to  God,  and  to  have  peace  with  him  through  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  and  righteousness  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.     Let  us  cease  to  quarrel.     Let  us  begin  to  live. 

I  have  thus  looked  at  this  kingdom  as  composed  of  principles ; 


112  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

lot  me  notice  it  now  as  composed  of  subjects.  Who  are  tlie  sub- 
jects of  this  kingdom  ?  In  one  short  sentence,  they  are  those  in 
whose  hearts  are  '^righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Clhost/'  But,  if  I  may  expand  it,  I  would  say,  the  subjects  of 
this  kingdom  are  not,  as  I  have  already  endeavoured  to  indicate, 
men  of  any  one  denomination,  or  any  one  ceremony.  You  may 
be  churchmen,  or  you  may  be  dissenters,  and  not  subjects  of  this 
kingdom.  You  may  pray  with  a  liturgy,  or  pray  without  one, 
and  yet  not  be  subjects  of  this  kingdom.  You  may  worship  in 
chapel,  in  church,  or  in  cathedral,  and  yet  not  be  subjects  of  this 
kingdom.  The  subjects  of  this  kingdom  are  not  distinguished  by 
the  conventionalisms  of  man,  but  by  inward  regeneration  of  heart 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  I  do  believe  that  if  the  attempt  suc- 
ceed that  is  now  made  to  identify,  by  a  decision  of  any  sort,  bap- 
tism— a  precious  sacrament — with  regeneration ;  leading  men  to 
suppose  that,  baptized  canonically,  they  are  regenerated  surely, 
the  most  awful  apostasy  will  be  commenced  by  the  church  of  many 
of  our  fellow-subjects.  If  it  were  only  understood  what  is  man's 
state  by  nature,  they  would  never  dream  that  baptizing  him  by 
water  could  essentially  alter  that  state.  It  may  alter  it  ecclesias- 
tically :  morally  and  truly,  it  cannot.  What  is  man's  state  ?  If 
man,  by  sin  and  by  the  fall,  had  merely  suffered  a  slight  shock — 
if  all  that  Adam's  ruin  and  Adam's  sin  had  done  were  to  throw 
man  into  a  faint  or  swoon,  then  I  do  not  see  why  water  sprinkled 
on  him  might  not  revive  him,  and  set  him  on  his  feet  again.  But 
if  this  be  not  the  expression  of  the  true  state — if  man  be  really 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  let  me  ask  you,  who  can  raise  the 
spiritually  dead  ?  Only  he  who  will  sound  the  trumpet,  and  the 
dead  shall  come  forth  from  their  graves,  can  speak  to  the  heart, 
and  the  heart  of  stone  shall  become  a  heart  of  living,  of  sensible, 
and  of  sympathizing  flesh.  The  members  of  this  kingdom  are 
not  the  baptized,  nor  the  circumcised  as  such ;  but  they  are  mem- 
bers of  the  body  of  Christ,  the  sons  of  God,  the  elect  of  God,  a 
chosen  generation,  a  peculiar  people,  a  holy  nation  :  "  the  lights 
of  the  world,"  'Hhe  salt  of  the  earth,"  '' living  stones,"  a  "  ro3'al 
priesthood,"  "kings  and  priests,"  and  ''servants  of  God,"  tlie 
^' sheep  of  his  pasture,"  "disciples,"  and  "heirs  of  God," 
"  Christians" — the  first  name,  as  it  will  also  be  the  last. 


THE    KINGDOM    OF  GOD.  113 

Let  me  notice,  briefly,  the  external  cliaracteristics  of  this  king- 
dom. It  is  a  catholic  kingdom.  We  are  the  true  catholic  church  • 
and  this  is  a  branch  of  the  catholic  church.  The  Romish  Church 
is  a  section  split  off  from  it;  and  our  objection  to  it  is,  that  it  is 
sectarian  and  not  catholic.  Catholic  is  the  attribute  of  some  of 
the  epistles  in  the  New  Testament;  it  is  the  attribute  of  the 
church  of  Christ.  But  whom  does  it  comprehend  ?  First,  all 
those  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  Christ.  Secondly,  those  who  arc 
now  alive,  and  born  again.  Thirdly,  those  who  are  not  yet  born, 
but  will  be  born,  and  shall  be  born  again,  in  the  Providence  of 
Grod.  These  are  they  who  compose  the  catholic  kingdom ;  and 
when  the  last  day  shall  come,  all  its  subjects,  from  the  first  hour 
of  the  world's  existence  to  its  last,  shall  meet  together,  and  con- 
stitute the  one  visible  catholic  church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

This  kingdom  is  a  united  kingdom.  Its  members  may  differ 
in  forms,  in  ceremony,  in  detail,  as  men  ever  differ  in  these  re- 
spects ;  but  they  have  one  common  characteristic — they  are  born 
again,  they  are  children  of  one  Father,  they  are  walking  in  Christ 
the  one  way,  they  are  regenerated  by  one  Spirit,  they  cleave  to 
one  Bible,  they  are  looking  for  one  home  :  ''  Let  there  be  no  strife 
between  my  herdsmen  and  thy  herdsmen,  for  we  be  brethren.'' 
The  Romish  Church  is  a  united  kingdom,  but  it  has  a  false  centre 
— man ;  we  are  a  united  kingdom,  but  it  is  around  the  true  cen- 
tre, and  that  centre — Christ.  And  as  I  told  you  before,  it  is  not 
enough  to  claim  uniformity;  there  must  be  unity.  Man  can 
make  a  company  uniform  by  dressing  them  alike,  and  making 
them  march  or  move  to  the  same  tune ;  but  God  alone  can  make 
hearts  one  by  uniting  them  to  himself,  and  inspiring  them  by  his 
almighty  grace. 

In  the  next  place,  this  kingdom  is  a  holy  kingdom :  it  is  com- 
posed of  saints.  Who  are  saints  ?  If  you  ask  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  he  will  say.  Saints  are  those  who  wrought  mi- 
racles, and,  fifty  years  after  the  miracles  were  wrought,  were 
canonized  by  the  pope,  according  to  a  certain  ceremony  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  and  who  are  to  be  prayed  to.  If  you  ask  the 
Bible,  it  tells  you:  '^  The  saints  at  Philippi,"  "The  saints  at 
Damascus,"  "The  saints  that  are  at  Corinth,"  "The  saints  that 

arc  at  Rome."     In  other  words,  all  true  Christians  are  saints. 

10* 


114  PIIOPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

The  word  is  a  translation  of  ayot,  the  holy  ones,  the  people  of 
God.  We  are  either  saints  by  grace,  or  we  are  sinners  by  nature, 
and  in  no  respect  saints  at  all.  If  we  belong  to  this  kingdom,  as 
its  subjects,  we  shall  be  characterized  by  holiness,  not  perfect,  but 
progressive;  holiness  in  aim,  holiness  in  aspiration,  holiness  in 
sympathy,  and  perfect  holiness  when  time  shall  be  no  more.  At 
present,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  any  one  perfectly  holy;  I  do  not 
believe  that  perfect  holiness  is  attainable  in  this  world ;  for  there 
is  no  stage  of  a  man's  life  in  which  he  will  not  find  these  words 
applicable  to  him  :  "  If  we  say/'  says  John — not  separating  him- 
self from  his  flock — "  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.''  "  But/'  he  adds,  ''if  we  confess  our 
sins,  Grod  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness."  And  the  seventh  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  need  only  be  read  to  show  you  that  there 
is  a  battle-field  in  every  man's  heart;  a  law  of  the  flesh  that 
wars  against  the  law  of  the  spirit :  so  that  when  you  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  you.  The  man  who  is  born  again,  and 
seeks  to  be  holy,  as  God  is  holy,  is  like  the  poor  captive  bird  in 
the  cage  :  the  cage  cannot  kill  the  bird,  the  bird  cannot  free  itself 
from  the  cage;  it  can  only  still  wait,  and  persevere,  and  sing, 
and  seek,  and  look,  till  the  hour  of  its  freedom,  its  perfect  eman- 
cipation into  brighter  realms  and  better  days  draws  near. 

Finally,  then,  this  kingdom,  thus  characterized  and  composed 
of  these  subjects,  is  the  kingdom  that  shall  destroy  all  other 
kingdoms,  and  cover  the  whole  earth.  Babylon,  the  great  apos- 
tasy of  the  earth,  shall  be  utterly  consumed;  the  smoke  of  her 
fire  shall  rise  up  for  ever  and  ever.  The  Jews  shall  be  gathered 
to  their  own  land;  yea,  Jesus  shall  shine  in  the  midst  of  them, 
and  before  his  ancients  gloriously.  Then  the  body  shall  be 
raised,  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall 
rise  first;  then  we  who  are  alive  shall  be  caught  up  with  them, 
and  so  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air.  Then  Christ  shall  be  revealed; 
we  shall  be  like  him — that  is,  perfectly  holy;  we  shall  be  like 
him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  Then  sacraments  shall  cease, 
for  they  are  only  to  last  "till  I  come  again;"  then  faith  will  de- 
part, for  it  will  be  merged  in  fruition ;  then  hope  will  disappear 
like  a  bright  vision,  for  it  shall  be  merged  in  having;  and  then 


THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  115 

grace  shall  be  swallowed  up  in  glory;  there  shall  be  no  more 
tears,  nor  sighing,  nor  sorrow;  all  graves  shall  be  filled  up;  the 
orphan's  weeping  face  no  more  scarred  with  tear-channels;  all 
creation's  discord  subdued;  all  nature  at  one  with  itself,  and  at 
one  with  Grod;  and  earth  a  vestibule  of  heaven;  heaven  and 
earth  eternally  one !  What  a  blessed  day !  humanity  pines  for 
it;  creation  groans  and  travails  till  this  kingdom  consume  all 
other  kingdoms,  and  flourish  for  ever.  The  slave  in  the  mines 
of  Siberia  longs  for  it;  the  slave  in  the  Southern  States  of  Ame- 
rica cries  for  it;  the  poor  needle-woman,  the  greatest  slave  of  all, 
earning  a  halfpenny  or  a  penny  per  hour,  as  I  have  myself  wit- 
nessed, sighs,  and  cries  for  it.  Let  them  have  patience  and 
priiy  on;  it  will- come.  God  hears  the  cry  of  the  oppressed,  the 
groans  of  nature,  the  petitions  of  his  saints;  and  the  kingdom 
shall  come,  and  ^'it  shall  not  be  destroyed,  nor  left  to  other  peo- 
ple, but  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms."  Its 
light  shall  never  be  quenched,  for  God  is  its  illumination;  its 
life  shall  never  be  extinguished,  for  God  is  its  everlasting  life. 
Sublime  thought !  that  from  the  lonely  and  sequestered  villages 
of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  there  has  come  forth  a  kingdom 
whose  triumphs  multiply  every  day,  whose  glories  shall  fill  the 
whole  earth,  whose  expanding  and  progressive  spring  is  God  the 
Omnipotent;  a  kingdom  that  will  shine  when  marble  statues  are 
defaced,  and  when  palaces,  and  noble  lialls,  and  thrones,  and 
dynasties  are  ground  to  powder,  and  scattered  as  the  chaff  upon 
the  summer  threshing-floor.  That  kingdom  is  at  our  doors;  that 
bright  epoch  comes  speedily.  Are  you  interested  in  it?  Have 
you  a  share  in  it?  Are  you  subjects  of  it?  Are  you  born 
again  ? 

My  dear  friends,  what  an  awful  thing  if  that  kingdom  should 
come  in  all  its  glory,  and  we  should  find  ourselves  excluded. 
What  a  terrible  thing,  if,  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  (and  we 
know  not  when  it  may  sound,)  and  the  dead  in  every  church- 
yard shall  rise, — if  from  a  grave  where  there  are  twain,  one  shall 
be  taken  and  one  left.  And  then,  we  that  are  alive,  it  is  said, 
shall  be  caught  up  in  the  air.  Oh,  what  a  terrible  separation 
will  it  be  for  one  of  a  family,  on  hearing  the  royal  sound,  to  as- 
sume mysterious  wings,  and  soar,  and  come  to  Jesus,  and  the 


116  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

other  to  be  left!  And  yet  I  am  not  describing  a  picture  of 
fancy;  I  am  stating  what  God  himself  has  said.  How  dreadful 
the  separation !  We  now  mourn  over  the  loss  of  those  that  fall 
asleep  in  Jesus;  what  a  terrible  shock  will  it  be  v/hen  we  find 
those  that  we  loved  upon  earth  severed  from  us  for  ever  and  for 
ever  I  Why  is  it,  my  dear  friends,  that  we  are  not  Christians  ? 
Why  are  we  not  the  people  of  God?  Why  are  we  not  trying  to 
make  others  so?  There  is  no  reason  outside  you.  There  is  only 
one — you  will  not.  Your  inability  is  moral.  There  is  not  the 
least  reason  why  every  man  in  this  assembly  may  not  go  home 
this  night,  and  bow  his  heart  before  God,  and  be  at  peace  with 
him  through  Jesus  Christ.  Recollect  the  serpent  of  brass.  The 
dying  Israelite  had  but  to  look:  the  instant  he  looked  he  had 
physical  life.  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent,  so  must  the  Son 
of  man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him,  looketh  to 
him,  leans  upon  him  as  a  Saviour,  may  have  instant  life.  May 
we  have  this  kingdom  within  us;  may  we  be  its  subjects,  and  so 
be  the  subjects  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord,  for  Christ's  sake. 
Amen. 


117 


LECTURE  IX. 


EARLY      MARTYRS. 


"  SbadracL,  Mesliach,  and  Abed-nego,  answered  and  said  to  the  King,  0  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, we  are  not  careful  to  answer  thee  in  this  matter." — Dan.  iii.  16. 


You  will  recollect  that  I  explained  in  a  series  of  successive 
discourses  that  remarkable  image  which  appeared  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, of  gold,  silver,  brass,  and  iron,  and  then  the  ten  toes, 
representing  ten  kingdoms,  mixed  with  iron  and  with  clay,  and 
incapable,  by  any  pressure  applied  to  them,  of  coalescing  and 
mingling.  I  showed  you  that  all  that  is  so  minutely  described 
in  prophecy  has  been  exactly  fulfilled  in  history;  that  man's  his- 
tory, written  by  man's  pen,  is  the  echo  of  God's  prophecy  in- 
spired by  God's  Spirit;  and  that  the  strongest,  because  accumu- 
lating evidence  that  holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  not  in  the  record  of  the  miracles  that 
were  done,  or  in  the  sublimity  and  purity  of  the  truths  that  were 
uttered,  but  in  the  continuous  fulfilment  of  those  ancient  pro- 
phecies in  the  years  as  they  roll  past  before  us. 

We  now  come  to  another  stage  in  the  incidents  connected 
with  Daniel  himself — not  connected  with  prophecy,  but  with 
personal  character.  I  may,  however,  notice  that  Daniel's  expo- 
position  of  the  image  made  the  king  raise  him  to  the  highest 
dignity,  and  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  also  to  the 
highest  honour.  But  one  grieves  to  see  how  short-lived  is  the 
patronage  of  man ;  for  we  find  by  the  preceding  chapter  that  the 
men  who  were  the  objects  of  royal  adoration  yesterday  are  the 
objects  of  his  fury  and  his  vengeance  to-day.  Truly  we  are  not 
to  trust  in  princes  nor  in  man's  son. 

I  may  here  notice  the  meaning  of  what  I  omitted  to  explain  in 
my  last  lecture,  that  Daniel  sat  in  the  gate  of  the  king.  (Chap.  ii. 


118  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

49.)  You  must  have  observed  that  in  the  Bible,  p:ates  are  fre- 
quently referred  to  :  '^  He  sat  in  the  gate/'  "  Judgment  in  the 
gate.''  "  Honoured  among  the  elders  in  the  gate."  So  Daniel 
was  seated  in  the  gate.  The  gate  of  a  city  in  ancient  times  was 
the  place  from  which  justice  was  dispensed;  it  was  a  strong  place, 
and  was  specially  guarded  ',  and  to  put  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego  in  the  gate,  was  to  make  them  counsellors,  and  judges, 
and  rulers  in  the  midst  of  the  land.  The  only  country  that  re- 
tains any  thing  like  a  memorial  of  this  usage  is  Turkey.  You 
know  the  phrase  used  in  the  newspapers,  when  they  refer  to  Turk- 
ish decisions — the  ^'sublime  Porte' — a  word  derived  frompfr/«, 
which  means  a  gate.  It  is  simply  the  remains  of  an  ancient  East- 
ern custom,  or  oriental  usage,  retained  in  a  modern  tongue,  and 
connecting  the  world  that  now  is  with  the  rites  and  customs  of  a 
world  that  is  passed  away. 

In  the  chapter  I  have  read  we  find  that  Nebuchadnezzar  raised 
a  golden  image  of  prodigious  height.  He  tried  to  captivate  all 
to  worship  it  by  the  sounds  of  music,  the  dulcimer,  and  flute,  and 
various  instruments  ;  and  he  warned  them  that  if  his  music  would 
not  prevail,  his  furnace  would  be  sure  to  punish  all  recusants ;  so 
that  if  they  were  not  captivated,  he  would  try  to  force  them ;  and 
if  he  did  not  force  them,  he  would  take  care  to  burn  them.  How 
like  Popery  I 

It  appears  that  certain  Chaldeans  and  counsellors  applied  to 
the  king — men  who  envied  the  dignity  of  Shadrach,  Meshach, 
and  Abed-nego — and  informed  him  that  there  were  Jewish  parties 
who  had  dared  to  disobey  his  commands.  He  sends  for  them, 
speaks  to  them  in  very  reasonable  terms,  warns  them  of  what 
they  had  done,  and  the  consequences  that  would  follow,  but  unex- 
pectedly receives  from  them  the  magnanimous  and  noble  reply : 
"  We  are  not  careful,  0  king,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  anxiety  to  us, 
to  answer  thee ;  our  miuds  are  fully  made  up  ;  we  know  what  is 
duty ;  and  in  the  face  of  kings,  and  amid  the  prospect  of  a  fiery 
furnace,  we  have  grace  to  stand  by  it." 

This  image  set  up  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  some  think,  was  meant 
to  be  an  imitation  of  the  splendid  image  which  he  saw  in  a  dream. 
An  image  passed  before  him  to  give  him  a  foresight  of  the  fate 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world ;  but  instead  of  learning  prophetic 


EARLY    MARTYRS.  119 

wisdom  from  it,  which  was  its  legitimate  use,  he  makes  a  copy  of 
it — a  copy  that  seems,  to  his  taste,  to  excel  the  original — and  sets 
it  lip  as  an  idol,  or  an  object  of  worship.  It  is  a  singular  fact^ 
that  all  false  religion  is  not  original ;  it  is  only  the  corruption  of 
the  true  :  and  we  may  calculate  the  height,  the  depth,  and  sub- 
stance of  the  true  religion  by  the  false  religion  which  follows  it ; 
just  as  men  estimate  the  height  of  the  pyramids  by  the  length 
of  the  shadows  they  cast  around  them.  This  king  used  the  image 
which  he  saw,  and  which  God  meant  for  a  sublime  and  good  pur- 
pose, to  be  a  model  for  an  idol,  which  was  to  take  the  place  that 
belonged  to  God  alone ;  just  as  the  Israelites  took  the  brass  ser- 
pent, which  had  a  most  beneficent  mission  according  to  God's  ap- 
pointment, and  made  it  an  object  of  worship.  Never,  never  is 
corruption  so  great  as  when  it  is  the  corruption  of  that  which  is 
pure.  Popery  is  thus  more  corrupt  than  heathenism ;  an  angel 
falling  becomes  a  fiend  ;  a  woman  falling  from  her  dignity  and 
purity  becomes  the  most  degraded  of  all  -,  and  pure  rites  and  or- 
dinances perverted  by  the  wickedness  of  man  become  the  most 
deadly  vehicles  of  dishonour  to  God  and  injury  to  mankind.  Take 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  make  it  occupy  the  place  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  and  you  do  what  the  Israelites  did  with  the  brass 
serpent,  what  Nebuchadnezzar  did  with  the  golden  image  :  you 
lift  it  from  its  true  and  its  beautiful  position — a  sign,  a  seal,  and 
an  introduction  to  the  visible  church — and  you  put  it  in  the  room 
of  God,  and  make  it  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  in  antichristian 
state,  showing  itself  that  it  is  God. 

Most  likely,  the  cause  of  the  king's  acting  thus  was  not  so  much 
his  love  of  idolatry  as  the  cunning  advice  of  his  counsellors  around 
him.  They  saw  that  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  were 
raised  to  honour — they  were  envious  of  the  dignity  to  which 
these  great  and  good  men  were  exalted.  They  therefore  hit 
upon  the  scheme  of  ensnaring  them  by  getting  the  king  to  erect 
a  god  for  universal  worship,  which  they  knew  too  well,  because 
they  knew  the  substance  and  depth  of  these  men's  religion,  they 
would  never  consent  to  adore.  Party  spirit  is  the  bitterest  of  all : 
it  has  done  what  nothing  else  in  the  history  of  man  can  do ;  but 
it  is  a  lesson  to  those  who  indulge  in  it,  that  wherever  in  the  Bible 
it  has  been  made  to  act  against  the  people  of  God,  it  has  recoiled 


120  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

in  its  action,  and  injured  or  destroyed  those  who  used  it.  These 
men  tried  to  destroy  Shadrach,  Mcshach,  and  Abed-nego,  and 
they  were  destroyed  themselves.  It  seems  to  be  a  great  law 
or  ordinance  in  Grod's  dispensations  with  mankind,  that  they  that 
shed  blood,  their  blood  shall  be  shed ;  that  they  that  wield  the 
sword  shall  fall  by  the  sword ;  that  no  man  can  smite  another 
without  being  smitten  himself;  nor  any  man  curse  another  with- 
out receiving  the  echo  and  rebound  of  that  curse  immediately  into 
his  own  bosom.  Let  us  pray  for  kings,  that  they  may  have  grace 
not  to  set  up  idols;  let  us  pray  for  their  ministers  and  counsellors, 
that  they  may  have  grace  to  give  them  good  advice.  A  king  has 
power;  and  when  that  power  is  allied  to  goodness,  it  is  all  but  di- 
vine ;  when  that  power  is  allied  to  wickedness,  it  is  as  disastrous 
as  it  is  sinful. 

The  image  is  here  described  to  be  of  a  certain  measurement — 
threescore  cubits  in  height,  and  in  breadth  six  cubits.  Anybody 
can  see  that  this  is  a  disproportionate  measurement,  and  that  an 
image  which  was  sixty  cubits  (about  ninety  feet)  in  height,  and 
only  six  cubits  (or  nine  feet)  in  breadth,  would  be  utterly  dispro- 
portionate. It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  this  is — if  I  may  reve- 
rently use  the  expression — a  loose  way  of  describing  the  image 
and  pedestal  together,  the  united  height  of  both  being  ninety 
feet.  Herodotus,  the  father  of  history,  alludes  to  a  golden  image 
that  was  set  up  at  Babylon,  which  he  himself  had  heard  of,  and 
which  every  one  was  obliged  to  kiss  before  he  entered  the  city. 
And  we  know,  from  classic  story,  that  at  Rhodes  there  was  an 
image  of  gold  seventy  cubits  in  height — ten  cubits  higher  than 
this  one — and  that  it  took  thirteen  years  to  construct  it,  or  put 
together  its  different  molten  parts ;  and  on  its  being  thrown  down 
by  an  earthquake,  such  was  its  weight  that  it  ploughed  up  the- 
solid  earth,  and  buried  itself  to  a  considerable  extent  beneath  the 
ground.  I  quote  these  facts  to  show  that  the  incidents  here  re- 
corded are  attested  by  heathen  historians;  that  in  heathen  history 
itself  we  have  a  parallel  case ;  and  that  such  images  were  not  un- 
usual, nor  impossible  to  be  constructed  by  ancient  art. 

This  image,  you  read,  in  the  next  place,  was  made  completely 
of  gold.  One  can  well  conceive  what  a  splendid  object  it  must 
have  been.     It  was  incapable  of  being  oxidized  by  the  rains  and 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  121 

the  atmospliere^  and  therefore  it  perpetually  retained  its  splendour 
in  that  eastern  and  purer  climate.  No  doubt,  the  king  depended 
for  popular  adoration  upon  the  splendour  of  the  image,  thinking 
its  brilliancy  and  grandeur  would  be  an  attraction  irresistible  to 
all  men.  It  seems  to  be  the  law  of  false  religion  that,  having  no 
inner  moral  beauty,  it  must  depend  upon  outward  trappings,  pomp, 
and  splendour,  for  its  weightiest  claims ;  so  much  so  that  when- 
ever we  see  a  church  begin  to  heap  up  splendid  pomps  and  cere- 
monies, gorgeous  robes,  magnificent  rites,  it  should  always  lead 
us  to  suspect  that  that  church  is  aware  that  the  inner  beauty  is 
evaporated,  and  that  the  outer  beauty  must  be  increased  and  aug- 
mented, in  order  to  conceal  its  loss  and  make  it  attractive.  So 
it  is  with  that  great  apostasy  in  the  Yv^est.  The  Church  of  Rome 
depends  for  her  power,  not  upon  the  purity  of  her  creed,  not  upon 
the  greatness  and  holiness  of  her  morality,  but  upon  the  splen- 
dour of  her  rites,  her  crucifixes,  her  genuflexions,  her  golden 
shrines,  her  embroidered  altars,  her  august  and  impressive  tem- 
ples :  like  the  ancient  temples  of  Egypt,  all  magnificent  as  archi- 
tecture could  make  them  without,  but  inside  are  the  reptiles  of  the 
Nile,  the  gods  the  people  bow  down  to. 

In  order  to  make  the  image  as  impressive  as  possible,  the  king 
collected  around  it  a  great  band  of  musicians,  with  all  sorts  of  in- 
struments of  music.  He  knew  the  charm,  the  power,  and  popular 
effect  of  good  music ;  and  he  was  resolved  that  not  only  should 
the  image  have  unwonted  splendour  by  being  golden,  and  thus 
reflecting  the  rays  of  rising  and  setting  suns,  but  that  it  should 
also  have  near  it  all  that  is  impressive  and  attractive  in  the  shape 
of  beautiful  music.  Painting  and  statuary  are  for  the  eye ;  music 
for  the  ear.  Thus  he  thought  he  would  be  sure  to  make  his  way 
to  the  heart.  Some  one  has  sarcastically  remarked  that  if  you 
can  secure  the  five  senses  of  men,  you  may  calculate  upon  all  the 
rest.  What  was  said  in  sarcasm,  has  too  often  been  fulfilled  in 
fact.  Men  are  too  often  led  by  their  senses,  not  by  their  judg- 
ment; they  worship  show,  not  in  spirit  and  truth.  The  Church 
of  Rome  is  aware  of  this  fact,  and  has  made  provision  for  man's 
senses  in  a  most  wonderful  manner;  calculating,  with  masterly 
sagacity,  that,  having  secured  the  homage  of  all  the  senses  by  her 

11 


122  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

adaptations  to  them,  slie  will,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  secure  the 
conversion  of  the  mind  and  the  homage  of  the  heart. 

These  three  Jews,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  as  I 
have  already  said,  were  accused  as  guilty.  They  felt  they  had  no 
alternative :  they  refused  to  how  down  and  worship  the  image 
the  king  had  set  up.  It  was  not  on  account  of  veneration 
for  their  own  idolatry  that  the  Chaldeans  accused  them;  it  was 
envy,  jealousy,  hatred,  and  all  uncharitableness.  When  the  king 
hears  of  their  disobedience,  he  sends  for  them,  speaks  to  them  with 
condescending  courtesy  and  kindness,  and  asks  them  the  reason 
why  they  had  refused  to  worship  the  image  that  he  had  set  up. 
He  had  no  idea  that  a  man  had  a  conscience — not  the  least  idea 
that  there  was  a  word  mightier  and  more  impressive  than  a  king's 
word;  and  he  thought  it  the  most  monstrous,  and  perhaps  the 
most  extraordinary  phenomenon  he  had  met  with  in  all  his  reign, 
that  any  man  should  refuse  to  obey  the  king's  command,  and  re- 
fuse in  circumstances  where  obedience  was  entitled  to  so  much 
favour,  and  where  disobedience  would  be  visited  with  so  severe 
and  terrible  a  penalty.  The  three  Hebrew  youths  calmly,  cour- 
teously, but  firmly,  refused.  They  were  not  insolent  to  the  king; 
they  did  not  insult  his  creed ;  they  were  prepared  to  argue  with 
him,  do  doubt,  if  he  condescended  to  permit  them ;  they  used  no 
oiFensive  epithets,  but  they  calmly  and  firmly  said  :  ^'  We  cannot 
do  it;  it  is  with  us  a  matter  of  conscience."  Conscience  is  that 
sacred  realm,  even  in  the  bosom  of  the  lowliest,  into  which  a 
king's  hand  may  not  dare  to  enter ;  it  is  that  sequestered,  solemn, 
awful  nook  in  the  constitution  of  the  human  soul,  into  which  God 
alone  can  claim  admission.  Kings  may  control  the  body;  they 
cannot  make  or  alter  the  convictions  of  the  soul.  Force  may 
make  bad  men  hypocrites ;  but  no  force  or  fraud  can  make  good 
men  disobey  the  behests  of  conscience  and  the  commandments  of 
their  God.  There  is  nothing  beneath  God  and  the  Bible  so  sacred 
as  the  conscience ;  and  there  is  no  one  fiiculty  Vv^thin  us  to  which 
we  should  listen  with  more  reverential  and  attentive  awe.  It  may 
be  blinded,  it  may  be  warped,  it  may  be  hardened,  it  may  be 
seared,  but  it  is  never  utterly  dead ;  and  a  day  always  comes  when, 
if  long  neglected,  long  scared,  long  disregarded,  it  reasserts  its 
ancient  and  inherent  rights,  ascends  to  its  own  sacred  pulpit,  and 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  123 

reasons,  in  tones  of  tbunder,  of  righteousness^  and  judgmentj  and 
temperance ;  and  man  must  hear  it. 

The  king,  finding  these  three  youths  determined,  seeing  that 
they  could  not  be  captivated  by  his  music,  nor  persuaded  by  his 
reasons,  to  worship  the  image,  threatens  them  with  the  burning- 
fiery  furnace  seven  times  heated.  Such  is  invariably  the  last  re- 
source of  a  false  religion.  It  will  try,  first,  to  captivate  by  its 
charms,  and  if  it  fail,  it  will  then  endeavour  to  coerce  by  its 
threats.  But  the  same  conscience  that  smiled  at  the  seductions 
of  the  music  will  triumph  over  the  threatenings  of  wrath.  The 
seven  times  heated  furnace  has  no  terrors  for  that  man  who 
knows  that  the  ever-living  God  is  his  friend,  and  eternity  his 
happy  and  blessed  home.  Tertullian,  in  speaking  of  the  treat- 
ment of  Christians  by  the  Roman  emperors  of  his  day — that  is, 
in  the  days  of  heathenism,  says,  ''  We  are  thrown  to  the  wild 
beasts  to  make  us  recant ;  we  are  burned  in  the  flame ;  we  are 
condemned  to  the  mines ;  we  are  banished  to  the  islands,  such  as 
Patmos ; — '  and  all  have  failed.' ''  So  was  it  here  :  the  sove- 
reign's frown  created  no  terror  in  these  young  men's  breasts. 
They  felt  the  force  of  duty ;  their  eye  was  single ;  their  path  was 
plain ;  their  course  was  marked  out  before  them.  How  absurd  is 
persecution,  in  whatever  way  you  look  at  it !  No  punishment  in- 
flicted on  the- body  can  possibly  alter  the  convictions  of  the  soul. 
One  wonders  man  can  think  so.  If  a  man  were  all  body,  perse- 
cution might  make  him  what  the  persecutor  pleased ;  but  man  is 
soul  and  body,  and  no  maltreatment  of  the  one  ought,  or  is  able, 
to  warp  the  judgment  of  the  other.  The  soul  is  to  be  dealt  with 
by  argument,  by  evidence,  by  love ;  the  body,  being  either  pleased 
or  punished,  can  exercise  no  real  influence  over  it. 

In  the  conduct  of  these  Hebrew  youths  we  have  a  great  pre- 
cedent for  ourselves  to  follow  in  less  painful  circumstances.  We 
should  rather  suffer,  and  if  needs  be,  die,  than  renounce  the  gos- 
pel. It  is  a  strong  statement,  but  it  is  a  scriptural  one.  St. 
Paul  says,  ^'I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound  only,  but  to  die  at  Jeru- 
salem for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.''  Perhaps  it  is  not  i-ight 
to  say  to  men  in  these  times  of  so  great  civil  freedom,  <^You 
should  be  prepared  to  die  for  the  gospel."  Perhaps  to  ask  you  to 
test  your  present  Christianity  by  your  readiness  at  a  future  time 


124  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

to  die  for  it^  is  not  fair,  scriptural,  or  necessary.  I  believe,  when 
martyrs  are  required,  G-od  gives  a  martyr's  spirit  to  meet  the  re- 
quirement. God's  grace  is  also  sufficient  for  the  crisis  3  it  is  not 
given  in  excess  before  the  crisis  comes.  The  great  question  we 
have  to  ask  is,  "  Arc  we  truly  the  children  of  God  ?  Are  we,  in 
heart  and  conviction,  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  ?  Are  we  wash- 
ed in  his  most  precious  blood  ?  Are  we  leaning  upon  his  most 
perfect  righteousness  ?  Are  we  looking  to  God  as  our  Father  ? 
Are  we  anticipating  the  glory  to  be  revealed  as  our  home  V  If 
we  can  make  sure  of  this,  we  need  not  now  consider  whether  ^e 
could  die  for  Christ.  When  the  exigency  arrives  that  will  require 
us  to  do  so,  the  God  that  j^ermits  the  crisis  in  his  providence 
will  supply  the  strength  in  his  grace ;  and  you  will  find  it  amply 
sufficient  for  you. 

How  composed  and  beautiful  was  the  remark  of  these  Hebrew 
youths :  ''  The  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us ;  if  he 
does  not,  well ;  we  commit  ourselves  to  a  faithful  God.^'  As  if 
they  had  said  :  "  If  he  miraculously  deliver  us,  it  is  well ;  if  he 
do  not,  we  know  it  is  equally  well.  It  will  be  but  the  torture 
of  a  moment ;  an  exceeding  weight  of  an  eternal  glory  is  beyond 
it.  We  do  not  like  the  fire ;  we  have  nerves  as  well  as  Nebu- 
chadnezzar ;  we  have  sensibilities  as  keen ;  we  shrink  from  tor- 
ture, as  all  humanity  must  shrink;  but  we  are  willing  to  brave 
the  flame  for  the  glory  that  lies  beyond  it;  we  are  willing  to  cross 
the  deep,  dark  flood  of  death  for  the  sake  of  the  bright  land  of 
Goshen,  that  stretches  in  perpetual  sunshine  on  the  other  side. 
We  do  not  love  death,  nor  do  we  wish  death ;  but  we  are  willing 
to  bear  it  for  what  death  leads  to.'^  AVhen  you  hear  persons  say, 
"  We  wish  to  die,"  their  language  is  not  correct.  No  man  wishes 
to  die.  I  have  said  before,  that  of  all  things  death  is  the  most 
horrible,  the  most  unnatural,  the  thing  from  which  we  naturally 
and  properly  shrink  and  recoil;  because  man  was  never  made  to 
die.  Sin  has  brought  in  ^'  death  and  all  our  wo."  But  the 
Christian  says,  "  I  am  willing  to  meet  death  either  as  a  foe  to 
hurl  defiance  at,  or  as  a  friend — to  welcome  the  message  and  the 
messenger  too ;  not  because  I  love  that  friend,  or  because  I  court 
that  foe,  but  because  in  either  case  he  is  a  pioneer  that  paves  and 
opens  tlic  way  for  me  to  an  inheritance  which  is  incorruptible, 


EARLY   MARTYPvS.  125 

and  undefiled,  and  that  ftidetli  not  away/'  These  youths  said, 
*^  The  God  whom  we  serve  is  ahh  to  deliver  us ;  and  we  know 
that  if  it  be  for  his  glory  he  will  deliver  us.''  They  placed  the 
whole  stress  upon  God's  ability.  Satan  would  say  of  miracles, 
"Let  God  never  interfere  to  deliver;"  Man  would  say,  "Let 
God  always  interfere  to  deliver;"  God  has  determined  in  his 
wisdom  to  interfere  when  it  is  most  for  his  glory,  and  best  for 
you.  "Were  God  always  to  deliver  his  servants  by  a  perpetual 
miracle,  it  would  not  be  a  miracle ;  it  would  be  called — to  use 
the  phraseology  of  the  day — "a  law  of  nature."  Were  God 
never  to  deliver  his  servants,  then  the  world  would  say,  and 
Christians  would  begin  almost  to  think,  "  There  is  no  God."  He 
interposes  miraculously  often  enough  to  convince  that  God  is,  and 
God  acts ;  and  he  interposes  seldom  enough  to  make  more  vivid 
the  interposition  as  an  evidence  of  a  divine  and  providential 
power.  I  need  not  say  that  a  ceaseless  miracle  is,  by  its  very 
necessity,  no  miracle  at  all.  The  present  law  is,  that  water  should 
run  down-hill;  but  if  the  law  were  that  it  should  run  up-hill,  and 
if  it  had  been  so  for  eighteen  centuries,  men  would  say,  "  For 
water  to  run  up-hill  is  a  law  of  nature ;"  and  if  any  thing  oc- 
curred to  make  it  run  down-hill,  they  would  say,  "This  is  a  mi- 
racle." The  present  law  is,  that  the  vine  should  be  planted,  that 
the  rain  should  saturate  the  soil  in  which  it  grows,  that  the  juice 
should  rise  through  the  stem  and  go  into  the  branches  and  the 
leaves,  that  it  shall  effloresce  into  blossom,  and  ripen  into  fruit; 
that  the  fruit  shall  be  pressed,  the  juice  fermented,  and  be  con- 
verted into  wine.  But  Christ,  by  one  word,  shortened  the  pro- 
cess; and  instead  of  taking  a  year  to  allow  the  water  to  turn  into 
wine,  which  is  the  ordinary  law,  he  did  it  in  a  minute,  saying, 
"  Let  the  water  be  wine."  But  if  water  always  became  wine  by 
the  looking  of  a  man,  that  would  be  a  law,  and  the  other  process 
would  be  the  miracle.  What  is  continuous  is  called  the  law ;  the 
suspension  of  the  continuity  indicates  the  interposition  of  the 
Lawgiver.  A  ceaseless  miracle,  then,  is  an  absurdity.  There- 
fore the  idea  of  that  body  of  Christians,  who  have  followed  the 
late  Edward  Irving,  or  improved  or  misimproved  upon  what  he 
said — that  there  should  be  ceaseless  miracles  in  the  church,  is  to 

11* 


126  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

me  absurd ;  it  "will  not  bear  examiuation ;  it  cannot  be,  bj  the 
very  nature  and  necessity  of  the  thing. 

We  read,  that  when  the  king  had  failed  to  convince,  or  to  awe, 
or  seduce  these  youths,  he  ordered  the  furnace,  in  his  fur}^,  to  be 
heated  seven-fold.  The  means  of  doing  so  were  very  easy  in  that 
country.  The  whole  soil  of  Babylon  to  this  day  is  full  of  naphtha 
and  bitumen.  They  had  only  to  collect  the  brushwood  of  the 
forests,  and  to  cast  in  plenty  of  this  naphtha  and  bitumen,  (as  an 
ancient  historian  says  was  done,)  and  the  heat  of  the  furnace,  as 
any  one  must  be  aware,  would  become  highly  intense — or,  as  it  is 
here  said,  be  seven-fold. 

The  three  youths  were  then  cast  into  the  fire,  with  their  hoseu 
and  their  clothes  on,  as  the  last  and  most  desperate  punishment 
the  furious  monarch  could  inflict.  But  God  forgets  not  his  own. 
At  this  crisis  Grod  was  true  to  his  promise,  beheld  in  love  his 
servants,  and  interposed  for  their  deliverance.  The  flame  recog- 
nised the  presence  of  Him  that  made  it,  and  bowed  reverently 
before  the  Son  of  God,  just  as  on  other  occasions  the  waters  of 
the  sea  owned  him;  the  winds  heard  him;  and  all  nature  re- 
sponded to  him,  and  obeyed  him.  The  flame  lost  its  power  to 
consume,  because  it  was  commanded  not  to  do  so  by  Him  that 
kindled  it  at  the  first.  Nature  is  all  pliant  in  the  hand  of  Jesus. 
He  is  the  Lord  of  creation;  he  has  but  to  speak,  and  all  things 
will  respond  in  ten  thousand  echoes,  ^^  Speak,  Lord,  thy  servants 
hear.''  These  Hebrew  youths,  we  are  told  by  the  apostle  Paul, 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  ^'quenched  the  violence  of  fire" 
by  their  faith.  They  said  nothing  calculated  to  irritate  the  king, 
as  I  have  told  you;  they  submitted  meekly  to  the  judgment  he 
decreed,  and  cast  the  whole  stress  of  their  deliverance  upon  the 
Lord.     Let  me  gather,  then,  from  all  this,  these  lessons. 

The  mightiest  on  earth  learn  here,  and  have  learned  often 
since,  how  insignificant  are  the  greatest  efi'orts  to  injure  the  cause 
of  Christ. 

■  If  you  will  read  the  history  of  the  church  of  Christ,  you  will 
find  that  the  most  furious  opposition  has  only  served  to  spread  its 
principles,  and  to  add  new  attractions  to  those  that  professed 
them.  All  the  power  of  earth  and  hell  cannot  burn  out  one  sin- 
gle truth ;  all  the  patronage  of  earth  and  hell  cannot  build  up 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  127 

one  permanent  lie.  It  is  God's  great  law  that  all  things,  directly 
or  indirectly,  shall  build  up  truth;  and  that  nothing  upoft  earth 
shall  serve  permanently  to  build  up  a  lie.  The  Hebrew  youths 
walked  in  the  burning  fire  as  amid  groves  of  orange  and  of  myr- 
tle, while  one  walked  with  them,  like  unto  the  Son  of  God — no 
doubt  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant.  The  fury  of  the  king  was 
disappointed;  the  party-spirit  of  his  ministers  was  checked;  and 
they  that  kindled  the  fire  were  themselves  the  first  victims  of  it. 
In  looking  at  the  conduct  of  these  three  youths,  I  may  notice 
that  they  might  have  urged  that  it  was  their  duty  to  obey  the 
king,  and  worship  the  image  he  had  set  up;  for  it  was  the  es- 
tablished religion  of  the  country.  So  it  unquestionably  and,  in 
this  case,  unhappily  was.  The  king  patronized  the  idol,  and  no 
doubt  its  worshippers;  and  these  youths  might  have  argued,  as 
some  men  argue  still,  ''It  is  the  established  religion;  it  enjoys 
the  sunshine  of  the  countenance  of  the  monarch;  and  as  loyal 
subjects,  it  becomes  us  to  embrace  it.''  Whatever  be  the  excel- 
lence, the  merit,  or  the  demerit  of  established  religion,  we  should 
learn  this:  that  the  mere  establishment  of  a  creed — whether 
doing  so  be  right  or  the  reverse,  it  is  needless  now  to  discuss — is 
not  necessarily  the  making  of  truth  a  lie,  or  the  making  of  a  lie 
truth.  Mohammedanism  is  established  in  Turkey;  but  it  is  not, 
therefore,  my  duty  to  become  a  Mohammedan  there.  Popery  is 
established  in  Austria;  but  it  is  not,  therefore,  my  duty  to  be- 
come a  Papist  there.  Pantheism,  or  the  endowment  of  every 
thing  upon  earth  that  assumes  the  name  of  religion,  is  established 
in  France;  but  it  is  not  my  duty  to  become  a  Pantheist,  or  to 
worship  in  the  temple  of  the  province  in  which  I  may  be  placed 
in  France.  Let  religion  be  established  by  the  powers  that  be, 
which  they  think  true;  but  let  me  be  regarded  as  having  a  con- 
science. If  I  cannot  conform  to  the  religion  that  is  established 
by  law,  either  from  conscientious  conviction,  or  from  God's  word, 
or  from  scrupulosity,  as  is  the  case  with  some,  let  me  have  the 
freedom — the  full,  unfettered  freedom  of  worshipping  beneath 
my  own  vine  and  my  own  fig-tree,  according  to  the  prescriptions 
of  that  conscience  which  kings  can  neither  bind  nor  free,  which 
laughs  at  sword  and  fire,  and  glories  only  in  subjection  to  God 
its  Sovereign.     Because,  then,  it  was  the  established  religion,  it 


128  PIIOPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

was  not  therefore  their  duty  to  conform  to  it.  Nor  did  they 
cease  to  be  loyal  subjects,  because  they  would  not  be  the  church- 
men of  that  day.  It  is  possible  to  be  churchmen,  and  to  be  most 
disloyal;  it  is  possible  to  be  a  dissenter,  and  to  be  most  loyal. 
Our  conformity  to  the  established  church,  however  excellent,  is 
not  necessary  to  our  loyalty;  our  non-conformity  to  the  establish- 
ed church,  however  bad,  is  not  necessarily  disloyalty.  In  reli- 
gious matters  the  laws  should  leave  us  fi'ee;  in  civil  matters,  the 
law  of  Caesar  ought  to  be,  not  for  wrath,  but  for  conscience'  sake, 
reverently  obeyed.  I  am  not  here  speaking  against  a  religious 
establishment,  but  against  the  abuse  of  it. 

These  Hebrew  youths  might  have  urged  also  the  highest  pos- 
sible expediency  for  bowing  down  and  worshipping  the  image. 
Mark  how  they  were  situated.  They  were  captives  in  the  midst 
of  Babylon;  they  were  promoted  to  places  of  power;  they  had 
great  means  of  doing  good  to  their  captive  countrymen  in  the 
midst  of  the  city  of  their  habitation;  and  if  they  had  belonged  to 
the  expediency-mongers  of  every  age  and  country,  they  might 
have  argued  in  this  way:  ^^True,  it  is  very  bad  to  bow  down  and 
worship  this  image;  but  we  hold  places  of  power;  we  have  ex- 
cellent salaries;  we  have  great  influence;  we  may  be  the  means 
of  doing  good  to  our  poor  captive  fellow-countrymen.  Had  we 
not  better,  therefore,  bow  the  body,  though  we  dcT  not  bow  the 
soul,  to  this  golden  image?''  If  it  had  been  a  matter  of  form,  or 
ceremony,  a  matter  of  discipline  or  ritual,  then  I  would  have 
said,  "Remain  in  the  communion  in  which  you  can  do  the 
greatest  good;"  but  as  it  was  a  matter  that  touched  the  con- 
iScience;  and  as  that  conscience  responded  to  what  God  said, 
"Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  them  nor  worship  them,''  these 
three  Hebrew  youths  had  no  choice.  They  did  what  was  right, 
and  feared  not  that  the  right  would  be  always  the  most  expedient. 
Do  what  is  right,  and  you  will  always  find  it  expedient.  That 
cannot  be  politically  expedient  which  is  morally  wrong.  It  is 
God's  law  plainly  unfolded  in  his  word.  Do  not  look  behind  you, 
nor  before  you,  nor  above  you,  nor  around  you;  but  be  satisfied 
that  all  things  will  work  for  good  to  you,  while  you  continue  to 
act  aright.  Duty  alone  is  ours ;  all  the  region  beyond  it — the 
region  of  events  and  consequences — is  exclusively  God's.     We 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  129 

are  to  mind  the  duty  that  devolves  upon  us;  we  are  to  leave  with 
God  to  settle  the  issues  that  may  flow  from  our  obedience  to  that 
duty. 

There  was  another  reason  they  might  have  urged  for  their  con- 
forming to  the  king's  requirements — that  was,  their  personal  ob- 
ligations. They  might  have  argued:  ^'He  has  been  to  us  a  most 
gracious  monarch;  he  has  raised  us,  in  his  sovereignty,  to  places 
of  high  power  and  high  honour;  he  has  made  us  sit  in  the  gate, 
the  place  of  judgment,  of  greatness,  and  of  justice,  and  we  owe 
homage  to  the  king  and  gratitude  to  the  man."^  But  duty  to 
God  was  even  stronger  than  gratitude  and  loyalty  to  an  earthly 
king.  My  dear  friends,  there  is  nothing  more  painful  than  to 
be  obliged  to  refuse  a  dear  friend  what  our  consciences  tell  us  we 
cannot  give.  But  "he  that  loveth  father  or  mother,'^  much  less 
a  friend,  "more  than  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple.'^  We  must 
take  up  the  cross,  and  follow  Jesus.  Do  all  that  you  can  to 
gratify  your  friends;  but  do  nothing  to  irritate  and  disturb  your 
peace  of  conscience,  and  the  allegiance  that  you  owe  to  God. 

These  youths  might  have  also  argued:  "If  we  refuse  to  wor- 
ship the  golden  image,  we  shall  present  a  very  singular  aspect : 
it  is  the  universal  worship;  the  whole  mass  upon  the  plain  of 
Dura  fall  down  and  worship  the  image;  and  we  three  shall  ap- 
pear the  most  singular  and  grotesque  of  non-conformists  amid  the 
inhabitants  of  mighty  Babylon. ^^  Singularity,  when  it  is  as- 
sumed, is  contemptible,  and  indicates  a  very  weak  mind  indeed. 
To  be  singular  for  singularity's  sake  is  positively  detestable — be- 
low the  dignity  of  man,  and  unworthy  of  the  gravity  of  a  Chris- 
tian ;  but  to  be  singular  because  it  is  the  necessary  result  of  not 
sinning,  is  worthy  of  the  Christian,  and  it  dignifies  the  man.  We 
must  not  be  afraid  of  being  singular  when  duty  makes  that  sin- 
gularity inevitable.  If  it  be  in  an  excellent  thing,  our  singularity 
should  not  make  us  ashamed.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  man 
ashamed  of  being  singularly  rich?  of  a  woman  ashamed  of  being 
singularly  beautiful?  of  a  man  ashamed  of  being  singularly  wise? 
Is  it  not  very  odd  that  men  should  be  ashamed  of  being  singu- 
larly religious?  Is  not  religion  more  beautiful  than  beauty? 
wiser  than  wisdom  ?  and  far  more  valuable  than  riches  ?  Do  not 
court  singularity,  but  cleave  to  duty;  do  not  fear  singularity,  if 


130  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

avoidino:  sin  necessitates  it.  Do  not  mind  that  the  multitude  are 
against  you,  if  God  be  with  you.  Plant  your  foot  upon  one  sin- 
gle text  of  the  Bible,  and  defy  all  mankind:  ''Thou  shalt  not 
follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil."'  ''x\s  for  me  and  my  house/^  be 
it  in  Constantinople,  be  it  in  Vienna, — Petersburg  or  Rome,  or 
Babylon  or  London;  ''as  for  me  and  my  house,' ^  whatever  other 
men  may  choose  to  do,   "we  will  serve  the  Lord." 

These  men,  too,  might  have  pleaded  the  terrible  penalty  to 
which  they  were  exposed  by  disobeying  the  commandments  of 
the  king.  It  was  a  terrible  penalty;  and  a  severe  penalty  for 
disobedience  to  a  command  so  easily  obeyed  by  a  genuflexion  of 
the  knee,  yet  so  impossible  to  be  done  by  the  bowing  of  a  Chris- 
tian's heart.  They  might  have  said,  "It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be 
cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace;"  but  they  looked  at  the  furnace, 
even  when  it  was  hottest,  and  they  looked  at  the  duty,  when  it 
had  not  one  advocate  or  follower  besides  them,  and  they  chose 
duty — naked,  simple  duty;  and  they  were  not  careful  to  answer 
the  king  how  they  should  meet  or  endure  the  burning,  fiery  fur- 
nace. What  gratitude  do  we  owe  to  God  that  we  can  be  true  to 
duty,  and  yet  not  incur  such  a  dreadful  penalty.  But  what  re- 
buke does  the  conduct  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego 
administer  to  many  of  us !  You  think  if  you  become  Christian — 
it  is  the  thought  of  many  a  young  man  here  to-night — if  you  be- 
come Christian  you  will  be — what  ?  Thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  ? 
One  might  not  be  surprised  if  you  hesitated. — Be  cast  into  the 
fiery  furnace.  If  so,  one  might  not  be  surprised  that  you  should 
pause.  But  you  think  only,  "If  I  become  a  Christian  I  shall 
have  to  give  up  this  profit," — that  is  all;  "I  shall  have  to  re- 
nounce this  pleasure;  I  shall  have  to  shut  up  my  shop  on  Sun- 
day,"— that  is  all.  And  can  you  hesitate  to  comply  with  a  clear 
command  from  God,  because  you  will  lose  a  little  pleasure,  part 
with  a  little  profit,  die  not  so  rich,  live  not  so  splendidly :  when 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  refused  to  bow  the  knee  for 
once  upon  the  plain  of  Dura,  though  doing  so  would  have  gained 
them  a  loftier  place,  apparently,  in  the  favour  of  their  king,  and 
shielded  them  from  the  terrible  penalties  attached  to  disobedience  ? 
What  you  do  now,  indicates  what  you  would  have  done  if  you 
had  been  added  to  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego,  and  been 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  181 

a  fourth  tliere.  Yoii  would  have  bowed  the  knee^  and  worship- 
ped the  image,  and  escaped  the  penalty.  But  how  will  you  meet 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  at  the  judgment-seat?  They, 
with  less  light  and  fewer  privileges — not  having  heard  of  Calvary, 
its  cross,  its  agony,  its  bloody  sweat — not  having  the  gospel,  in 
all  its  grace,  and  glory,  and  riches,  unfolded  to  them — with 
weaker  motives,  less  acquaintance  with  God,  manfully  refused 
the  bribe,  despised  the  penalty,  and  clave  to  duty;  and  you, 
amid  privileges  such  as  the  world  never  tasted  or  enjoyed  before, 
are  overcome  by  the  bribe,  repelled  by  the  penalty;  open  your 
shops  on  Sunday,  cheat  on  the  Monday,  and  grow  rich  by  work- 
ing to  death,  in  thousands,  the  young  men  that  serve  you.  How 
would  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  have  done  if  they  had 
been  of  your  religion  and  your  spirit?  And  how  will  you  meet 
them  at  that  day  when  all  the  pageantry  of  kings  and  palaces 
will  have  passed  away  like  a  pale,  airy  phantasm;  and  duty,  con- 
science, responsibility,  God,  the  Saviour,  the  soul,  will  alone 
stand  great  and  blessed,  or  terrible  realities? 

These  Hebrew  youths  had  faith  in  God's  power:  they  said, 
'^He  is  able  to  deliver  us."  They  had  faith  in  God's  promises; 
they  felt  that  he  would  deliver  them.  Perhaps  they  had  heard 
sounding  on  the  plain  of  Dura  that  very  promise  which  God  pro- 
nounced to  Isaiah  about  a  hundred  years  before:  '^When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee ;  and  through  the 
rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee :  when  thou  walkest  through 
the  fire,  thou  shall  not  be  burned;  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle 
upon  thee." 

Then,  these  three  youths  had  the  hope  of  the  ^^glory  that  re- 
mains to  be  revealed."  Some  persons  have  tried  to  show  that 
the  ancient  Christians,  before  Christ — the  Christians  in  his  twi- 
light, as  we  are  Christians  in  his  dawn — had  no  idea  of  a  future 
state,  and  that  it  is  not  clearly  revealed  in  the  Bible.  It  appears 
to  me  that  the  Old  Testament  does  better  than  in  express  terms 
announce  it;  for  in  every  sentence  and  verse  it  unequivocally 
implies  it.  If  the  burning  fiery  furnace  was  to  be  the  termina- 
tion of  the  being  of  these  Hebrew  youths,  how  could  they  have 
braved  it?  What  reward  or  inducement  was  there  to  do  so? 
But  we  are  told  by  the  apostle,  who  knew  what  his  countrymen 


132  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

believed — for  lie  himself  was  a  Hebrew,  (Heb.  xi.  14,)  ^^For 
they  that  say  such  things  declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  coun- 
try/^ ^^They  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly." 
And  again,  speaking  of  Moses:  ^^ Choosing  rather  to  suffer  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin 
for  a  season;  esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  in  Egypt :  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense 
of  the  reward.  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath 
of  the  king;  for  he  endured,  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible." 

And  now,  let  us  learn  this  great  lesson  from  all  I  have  said — 
that  the  path  of  principle  is  always  the  highest  possible  expe- 
diency. Never  do  a  thing  because  it  seems  expedient  if  it  be 
not  clearly  right.  Never  hesitate  to  feel  that  the  thing  that  is 
right  in  the  sight  of  God,  will  be  the  most  expedient  in  the  ex- 
perience of  man.  God  himself  has  said,  ^'He  that  walketh  up- 
rightly walketh  surely."  Enter  the  furnace,  if  needs  be,  in 
obedience  to  God,  and  God  will  deliver  you.  Enter  Paradise  it- 
self in  disobedience  to  God,  and  God  will  not  keep  you,  but  it 
will  be  to  you  more  terrible  in  the  end  than  the  furnace  seven 
times  heated.  Remember  always  that  God  is  able,  and  is  willing 
to  deliver  you,  and  he  will  deliver  you — when,  how,  and  vv'here 
it  is  most  for  his  glory,  and  best  for  you. 

Learn  also  this  last  lesson :  Christ  has  been  with  his  church 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Where  has  the  church  not 
been  ?  But  you  ask,  perhaps,  what  is  the  church  ?  The  church 
is  not  a  great  cathedral,  or  a  national  establishment,  or  local  de- 
nomination— Independent,  Wesleyan,  Episcopal,  or  Presbyterian. 
The  normal  idea  of  the  church  of  Christ  is,  ^'  Where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them."  The  church  was  once  the  family  of  Adam,  and  Jesus 
was  present  when  Adam  and  Eve  and  Abel  kneeled  down  before 
the  altar  of  their  God.  The  church  was  tossed  upon  the  deep  in 
the  ark  with  Noah.  The  church  was  in  Abraham's  family  when 
he  remonstrated  with  Lot.  The  church  was  on  the  plain  of  Dura 
when  the  three  Hebrew  youths  stood  firm.  And  the  church  was, 
lastly,  in  the  burning  fiery  furnace  when  the  three  youths  were 
there,  and  the  Son  of  God  was  present  in  the  midst  of  them,  true 
to  his  promise  :  "  Where  two  or  three  arc  gathered  together  in  my 


EARLY   MARTYRS.  133 

name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them/^  An  architect  can  build 
a  cathedral  j  a  queen  by  her  presence  can  create  a  palace ;  but 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  glory  alone  can  constitute  a  church ', 
and  where  two  or  three  are  present,  there  he  will  be.  Let  it  be 
in  the  flood  or  the  fire  in  the  wilderness,  or  in  the  city,  he  will 
preserve  it  unto  the  last.  The  bush  may  blaze,  but  God  is  in  the 
bush,  and  it  cannot  be  consumed.  His  saints  may  suffer;  but 
their  sufferings  shall  only  spread  their  faith,  and  glorify  their 
Lord.  And  all  things,  the  blunders  of  its  friends,  the  bitterness 
of  its  enemies,  the  silence  of  its  advocates,  the  opposition  of  its 
foes — all  things,  in  height  and  depth,  shall  aid  the  cause  of 
Christ,  and  prosper  that  church  of  which  he  is  the  foundation  and 
blessed  hope.     Amen. 


12 


134 


LECTURE  X. 


PRIDE   ABASED. 


"  Now  I  Nebuchadnezzar  praise  and  extol  and  honour  the  King  of  heaven, 
all  whose  works  are  truth,  and  his  ways  judgment :  and  those  that  walk  in 
pride  he  is  able  to  abase." — Daniel  iv.  37. 

Perhaps,  as  I  quoted  all  the  previous  chapter  in  my  former 
lecture,  it  will  be  necessary  now  to  read  the  greater  portion  of  the 
chapter  from  which  the  text  is  taken — and  on  which,  rather  than 
on  a  mere  historical  statement,  I  desire  in  this  lecture  to  dwell. 

We  are  told  that  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king,  wrote  an  epistle 
^^  unto  all  people  and  nations  and  languages  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ;'^ 
and  the  substance  of  that  epistle  we  are  told  was,  '^  Peace  be  mul- 
tiplied to  you.^'  He  explains  the  ground  on  which  he  bases  his 
statement — "  I  thought  it  good  to  show  the  signs  and  the  won- 
ders that  the  high  God" — not  his  idol  Bel,  whose  praises  he  had 
sung  before,  but  "  that  the  high  God  hath  wrought  toward  me.'^ 
And  then,  carried  away  by  the  magnificent  ideas  that  were  before 
him,  and  by  the  goodness  of  that  God  who  had  so  mercifully 
dealt  with  him,  he  exclaims  in  ecstasy,  "How  great  are  his  signs  ! 
and  how  mighty  are  his  wonders  !  his  kingdom  is" — not  like  my 
kingdom,  a  frail  and  fleeting  one,  but — "an  everlasting  king- 
dom, and  his  dominion  is  from  generation  to  generation."  He 
then  rehearses  the  main  fiicts  from  which  he  draws  the  precious 
truths  contained  in  this  chapter,  one  of  which  I  am  about  to  un- 
fold :  he  tells  them,  "  I,  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  at  rest  in  my  house, 
and  flourishing  in  my  palace."  All  his  enemies  were  subdued 
without;  all  his  fears  were  quieted  within.  And  while  he  was 
thus  "  at  rest  in  his  house  and  flourishing  in  his  palace,"  another 
dream,  difiFerent  from  the  one  which  had  before  glanced  before  his 
eyes  in  the  night,  visions  passed  before  him,  and  his  thoughts 


PRIDE   ABASED.  135 

troubled  him.  He  called  all  the  magicians  of  his  kingdom  to 
whom  he  had  been  wont  to  look  in  his  prosperity,  and  asked  them 
to  explain  the  marvellous  vision  which  he  had  beheld.  They 
were  unable  to  make  it  understood.  God  always  taught  Ne- 
buchadnezzar what  he  has  so  often  taught  us^  that  all  human 
glory  must  be  stained,  that  God's  alone  may  shine  forth;  that  the 
wisdom  of  man — even  of  the  magicians  of  the  earth,  must  be  seen 
and  felt  to  be  folly,  in  order  that  we  may  be  led  to  drink  from  that 
fountain  of  wisdom  which  alone  is  pure  and  undefiled,  and  worthy 
of  the  name.  Daniel,  the  minister  of  God,  was  again  brought 
before  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  was  informed  by  him  what  his  dream 
was,  and  required  to  give  the  solution  of  it.  The  dream  was  as 
follows  :  "  I  saw  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,  and  the  height 
thereof  was  great.  The  tree  grew,  and  was  strong,  and  the  height 
thereof  reached  unto  heaven,  and  the  sight  thereof  to  the  end  of 
all  the  earth :  the  leaves  thereof  were  fair,  and  the  fruit  thereof 
much,  and  in  it  was  meat  for  all :  the  beasts  of  the  field  had 
shadow  under  it,  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  dwelt  in  the  boughs 
thereof,  and  all  flesh  was  fed  of  it.  I  saw  in  the  visions  of  my 
head  upon  my  bed,  and  lo,  a  watcher  and  an  holy  one  came  down 
from  heaven ;  he  cried  aloud,  and  said  thus,  Hew  down  the  tree 
and  cut  off  his  branches,  shake  off  his  leaves,  and  scatter  his 
fruit :  let  the  beasts  get  away  from  under  it,  and  the  fowls  from 
his  branches  :  nevertheless  leave  the  stump  of  his  roots  in  the 
earth,  even  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of 
the  field ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  let  his 
portion  be  with  the  beasts  in  the  grass  of  the  earth  :  let  his  heart 
be  changed  from  man's,  and  let  a  beast's  heart  be  given  unto  him, 
and  let  seven  times  pass  over  him."  Then  Daniel,  whose  name 
was  Belteshazzar,  explains  to  Nebuchadnezzar  what  was  the  mean- 
ing and  intent  of  the  dream  in  these  words  :  "  My  lord,  the  dream 
be  to  them  that  hate  thee,  and  the  interpretation  thereof  to  thine 
enemies."  You  will  notice  in  this  verse,  (19,)  that  the  word 
"be"  is  printed  in  italics;  which  shows  that  it  was  employed  by 
the  translators  as  being  supposed  by  them  to  express  more  freely 
the  meaning  of  the  original.  If  it  be  so,  the  sentence  would  seem 
like  a  sort  of  anathema  pronounced  by  Daniel  on  the  enemies  of 
the  king;  but  if  we  look  at  the  original,  we  shall  find  that  v/o 


136  PIIOPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

ought  to  leave  out  ^^be/'  and  tlien  tlie  verse  would  run  thus  : — 
^^  the  dream  (is)  to  them  that  hate  thee/'  &c. — i.  e.,  "  it  is  a 
dream  which  will  make  glad  the  hearts  of  your  enemies ;  because 
it  makes  sorrowful  your  own/^  It  is  not  an  imprecation  of  what 
Daniel  wished  on  the  foes  of  the  king,  but  a  declaration  of  what 
the  foes  of  the  king  would  feel  when  they  heard  of  the  calamities 
he  was  about  to  suffer.  Daniel  then  proceeds,  "  The  tree  that 
thou  sowestj  which  grew,  and  was  strong,  whose  height  reached 
unto  the  heaven,  and  the  sight  thereof  to  all  the  earth ;  whose 
leaves  were  fair,  and  the  fruit  thereof  much,  and  in  it  was  meat 
for  all ',  under  which  the  beast  of  the  field  dwelt,  and  upon  whose 
branches  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  had  their  habitation  :  it  is  thou, 
O  king,  that  art  grown  and  become  strong ;  for  thy  greatness  is 
grown,  and  reacheth  unto  heaven,  and  thy  dominion  to  the  end 
of  the  earth.  And  whereas  the  king  saw  a  watcher  and  an  holy 
one  coming  down  from  heaven,  and  saying,  Hew  the  tree  down, 
and  destroy  it;  yet  leave  the  stump  of  the  roots  thereof  in  the 
earth,  even  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of 
the  field ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  let  his 
portion  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  till  seven  times  pass  over 
him ;  this  is  the  interpretation,  0  king,  and  this  is  the  decree  of 
the  Most  High,  which  is  come  upon  my  lord  the  king :  that  they 
shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwelling  shall  be  with  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  and  they  shall  make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  T55i:en, 
and  they  shall  wet  thee  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  seven  times 
shall  pass  over  thee,  till  thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in 
the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will.  And 
whereas  they  commanded  to  leave  the  stump  of  the  tree  roots ; 
thy  kingdom  shall  be  sure  unto  thee,  after  that  thou  shalt  have 
known  that  the  heavens  do  rule.  Wherefore,  0  king,  let  my 
counsel  be  acceptable  unto  thee,  and  break  off  thy  sins  by  right- 
eousness, and  thine  iniquities  by  showing  mercy  to  the  poor;  if  it 
may  be  a  lengthening  of  thy  tranquillity.'^ 

After  he  had  heard  the  interpretation,  and  undergone  the  sen- 
tence of  degradation,  king  Nebuchadnezzar  thus  concludes  his 
history:  "And  at  the  end  of  the  days  I  Nebuchadnezzar  lifted 
up  mine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  mine  understanding  returned 
unto  me,  and  I  blessed  the    Most  High,  and  I  praised  and  ho- 


PRIDE    ABASED.  137 

noured  liiin  that  livetli  for  eYer,  whose  dominion  is  an  everlasting 
dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is  from  generation  to  generation: 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  reputed  as  nothing :  and 
he  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven^  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth:  and  none  can  stay  his 
hand,  or  say  nnto  him,  What  doest  thou  ?  At  the  same  time 
my  reason  returned  unto  me ;  and  for  the  glory  of  my  kingdom, 
mine  honour  and  brightness  returned  unto  me;  and  my  counsel- 
lors and  my  lords  sought  unto  me;  and  I  was  established  in  my 
kingdom,  and  excellent  majesty  was  added  unto  me.  Now  I 
Nebuchadnezzar  praise  and  extol  and  honour  the  King  of  hea- 
ven, all  whose  works  are  truth,  and  his  ways  judgment:  and 
those  that  walk  in  pride  he  is  able  to  abase.'' 

This  closing  epistle,  addressed  by  the  king  Nebuchadnezzar  to 
his  subjects,  breathes  a  quiet  and  a  beautiful  spirit,  that  indi- 
cates to  my  mind  a  change  in  his  heart,  a  transformation  of  his 
character — a  true  and  an  actual  conversion  to  God.  We  cannot 
but  notice  in  this  epistle,  first  the  great  humility  by  which  it  is 
characterized.  The  pride  that  provoked  punishment  is  super- 
seded by  humility,  that  owns  its  justice  and  gives  glory  to  tha 
God  who  punished  him  for  his  sins;  and  thus  he  shows  that  he 
felt  his  sin  to  be  grievous,  and  his  sentence  to  be  just.  You 
will  notice,  too,  in  the  blessing  which  the  king  pronounces 
upo*  all  mankind,  such  a  wish  as  can  be  expected  to  proceed 
only  from  a  Christian's  heart.  The  fierce  monarch  is  changed 
altogether.  Instead  of  war,  he  prays  for  peace;  the  hand  that 
wielded  the  sword  is  stretched  forth  in  benediction;  the  lion, 
fierce  and  ravenous,  is  changed  now  into  the  lamb.  He  that 
blasphemed  and  defied  the  attributes  of  heaven,  now  submits 
like  a  weaned  child,  and  owns  the  justice  of  his  punishment; 
and  prays  that  blessings,  such  as  God  alone  can  give,  and 
monarchs  cannot  take  away,  may  be  bestowed  upon  all  his  sub- 
jects, and  that  all  mankind  may  rejoice  in  the  enjoyment  of 
them. 

You  will  notice,  too,  another  feature  in  the  epistle  of  the  king 
— namely,  the  missionary  feeling  and  missionary  sympathy  that 
pervades  it.  He  says,  ^'  I  thought  it  good  to  show  the  signs  and 
the  wonders,  and  the  might  he  had  wrought,"  which  is  only 

12* 


138  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

another  form  of  expressing  wliat  David  said,  when  he  cried, 
^^  Come,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  maJ^e  known  to  you 
what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul."  The  king  says,  ^^  I  have  seen 
the  greatness,  I  have  tasted  the  goodness  of  God.  It  is  now 
my  wish  that  all  the  people  of  my  realm  should  see  that  I  have 
done  so;  and  learn  that  the  God  that  they  are  to  worship  is  no 
golden  image,  but  the  God  who  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth, 
and  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom;"  and  thus  the 
Babylonian  throne  became  the  Christian  pulpit.  The  mighty 
monarch  became  the  humble  and  the  faithful  missionaiy;  and 
his  epistle  a  sermon  eloquent  of  wonders,  of  mercy,  of  righte- 
ousness, and  of  peace.  Here,  then,  we  have  an  evidence  what 
grace  can  do;  what  transformations  it  can  work;  what  results 
sanctified  affliction  can  achieve;  how  blasphemies  are  turned  into 
blessings,  and  the  fierce  despot  into  the  meek  and  humble  and 
submissive  saint.  And  the  same  grace  that  changed  the  heart 
of  the  Babylonian  monarch  can  and  will  change  the  heart  of  the 
most  depraved  of  mankind.  That  grace,  like  the  air  of  heaven, 
can  enter  by  the  smallest  cranny,  and  can  achieve  by  the  small- 
-est  means  the  greatest  possible  results.  It  has  found,  and  it  will 
find,  access  into  congress,  divan,  and  cabinet,  and  fiimily.  It 
will  find  its  way  into  the  temple  of  Bramah, — into  the  mosque  of 
Islam, — into  the  cathedral  of  the  Bomanist.  Wherever  there  is 
a  heart  that  beats,  there  grace  can  find  a  throne  for  its  blessed 
supremacy. 

The  dream  of  the  king,  which  we  have  read,  and  which 
Daniel  interpreted,  was  a  beautiful  one.  A  lofty  tree  was  seen 
planted  in  the  centre  of  the  earth;  herds  and  cattle  from  a  thou- 
sand hills  enjoyed  shelter  beneath  its  branches,  and  the  birds  of 
the  air  built  their  nests  amid  its  boughs.  Such  is  the  symbol" 
of*  a  prosperous  and  happy  king.  Nations  dwelt  beneath  his 
sovereignty;  families  found  peace  beneath  his  sceptre;  his  king- 
dom was  rooted  in  the  hearts  of  his  loyal  subjects;  a  spectacle 
too  magnificent  for  man  long  to  enjoy  elated  the  monarch's 
heart;  drew  out  the  corruption  of  his  nature,  and  prompted  the 
exclamation  which  brought  down  the  vengeance  of  heaven:  '^  Is 
not  this  great  Babylon,  that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the 
kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honour  of  my 


PRIDE   ABASED.  139 

majesty?'^  Tlie  instant  that  he  utters  these  thoughts,  the  sen- 
tence is  issued  that  fells  the  tree,  deposes  and  degrades  the 
monarch  of  whom  that  tree  was  the  symbol.  So  true  is  it  in 
eveiy  age,  "  I  have  seen  the  wicked  great  in  power,  and  spread- 
ing himself  as  a  green  bay-tree;  I  passed  by,  and  lo!  he  was 
not;  I  sought  him,  but  he  could  not  be  found. ^'  And  again, 
God  says,  '^All  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know  that  I,  the 
Lord,  have  brought  down  the  high  heart."  The  catastrophe  of 
the  monarch  is  the  result  that  is  here  foreshadowed  in  the  hew- 
ing down  of  the  tree.  The  sceptre  is  shattered  in  his  hand. 
The  mighty  ruler  is  driven  to  herd  with  the  lowest  cattle — the 
monarch  of  that  mighty  kingdom  goes  out  a  wretched  and  an 
unreasoning  monomaniac;  the  inmate  of  a  palace  becomes  an 
inhabitant  of  the  desert;  he  that  ate  king's  meat  feeds  with  the 
beasts  of  the  field;  and  he  whose  brow  wore  a  diadem  that  re- 
flected splendour  upon  a  thousand  kings,  is  naked  and  wetted  with 
the  dews  of  heaven.  ^' Hew  it  down;  cut  away  its  branches; 
shake  off  its  fiiiit.''  Thus  there  are  two  ways  in  which  God  can 
punish  kings,  just  as  there  two  ways  in  which  he  can  punish 
their  subjects.  He  can  drive  the  monarch  from  his  realm,  as  ill 
the  case  of  Nebuchadnezzar;  or  he  can  drive  the  kingdom  from 
the  monarch,  as  in  the  case  of  Belshazzar.  So  with  the  sub- 
jects, he  can  snatch  the  landlord  from  his  estate,  and  place  him 
at  the  judgment-seat;  or  he  can  snatch  the  estate  from  the  land- 
lord, and  leave  him  poor  and  friendless  in  the  world.  The  one 
or  the  other  of  these  results  will  follow  whenever  pride  is  in- 
dulged. It  is  a  law  as  sure  as  that  the  sun  shines  by  day,  that 
pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall. 
Let  a  church  be  proud  and  boast  of  itself,  and  that  church  will 
soon  be  laid  low.  Let  a  man  become  elated  and  exalted  by  a 
sense  of  his  talents,  and  he  will  soon  be  brought  down.  Let  a 
people  glory  in  their  wealth,  or  glory  in  their  wisdom,  or  in  any 
thing  but  Christ,  and  they  will  soon  learn,  that  he  who  tries  to 
steal  a  ray  from  the  glory  of  God  takes  a  withering  curse  in- 
wardly into  his  own  bosom. 

Such,  however,  we  find,  is  the  goodness  of  God,  that  before 
he  strikes  he  warns.  And  therefore  Daniel  says,  "  Moreover,  O 
king,  let  my  counsel  be  acceptable  before  thee,  and  break  olF  thy 


140  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

sins  by  rigliteousness^  and  tliy  transgressions  by  showing  mercy 
to  the  poor/'  In  the  Roman  Catholic  Bible  this  verse  is  trans- 
lated, ^^0  king,  redeem  thy  sins  by  righteousness:"  and  hence, 
it  is  favourite  text,  quoted  veiy  frequently  by  them  in  order  to 
show  that  good  works  have  a  propitiatory  or  atoning  virtue. 
But  the  translation  that  they  have  adopted  is  obviously  wrong. 
The  word  is,  properly  translated,  "  break  off;''  and  what  Daniel 
says  to  the  king  is  equivalent  to  saying,  "Cease  to  do  evil; 
learn  to  do  well;  reverse  the  couree  you  have  taken;  show  j^our 
repentance  in  the  sight  of  God  by  your  reformation  in  the  sight 
of  man.  Be  what  you  have  failed  to  be;  bring  forth  the  fruits 
that  you  have  not  brought  forth;  pity  the  poor  you  have  trodden 
under  foot;  abstain  from  the  violence  which  peradventure  has 
stained  you."  But  it  would  be  impossible  for  man,  by  any 
works  of  his  own,  to  make  atonement  for  himself;  for  "  by 
deeds  of  law,"  we  are  told,  "can  no  flesh  be  justified."  If  man 
could  make  atonement  for  man's  sins,  why  was  it  necessary  that 
God  should  become  man,  and  should  suffer  and  die,  that  his  sins 
might  be  atoned  for?  But  the  idea  is  too  absurd  to  require  me 
to  spend  time  in  refuting  it. 

Among  the  lessons  we  learn  from  this  chapter,  before  we  enter 
immediately  on  the  elucidation  of  the  text,  the  first  is,  that  the 
end  of  all  royal  government  is  beautifully  set  forth  by  the  symbol 
of  a  tree,  giving  shelter  to  some,  a  home  to  others,  and  protection 
to  all.  What  should  a  nation's  government  be  ?  A  government 
that  protects  the  weak  and  provides  for  the  poor;  that  gives  a 
shelter  to  the  oppressed  and  diffuses  the  greatest  possible  amount 
of  freedom  and  happiness  among  all.  We  learn  in  the  next 
place,  from  God's  hearing  Nebuchadnezzar,  that  God  hears  the 
whisper  in  the  royal  cabinet  as  well  as  the  groan  of  the  oppressed 
in  a  miserable  cellar.  It  is  here  stated  that  the  king  was  walk- 
ing in  his  palace,  and  he  said  within  himself,  "Is  not  this  great 
Babylon  that  I  have  built?"  God  hears  the  thought  of  the 
heart — "Thou,  God,  seest  me,"  may  be  said  by  every  individual 
here  this  evening.  God's  eye  is  just  as  closely  riveted  upon  the 
heart  of  that  young  man  or  that  young  woman,  as  if  that  young 
man  or  young  woman  were  the  only  individual  in  the  whole  uni- 
verse of  God.     There  is  not  a  thought  that  flutters  in  our  hearts 


— tliere  is  not  a  purpose  in  tliem  formed  for  to-morrow — ^there  is 
not  a  secret  spring  of  wickedness  arising  in  any  bosom — ^tliere  is 
not  a  design  that  is  cherished  in  the  secrecy  of  any  heart,  that 
you  can  hide  from  God — from  that  eye  that  pierces  the  darkness 
— from  that  car  that  hears  in  silence — from  that  God  who  will 
bring  every  secret  thing  to  light,  and  judge  according  to  the 
thoughts  of  the  heart,  the  words  of  the  mouth,  and  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good,  or  whether  they  be 
evil.  What  a  solemn  consideration  it  is  that  those  thoughts 
which  you  would  wish  to  conceal  from  that  person  who  sits  be- 
side you  in  the  pew,  are  known  to  God:  and  your  schemes, 
plans,  and  imaginations  that  you  would  not  disclose  to  a  mother, 
to  a  husband,  to  a  wife,  to  a  child,  to  a  friend,  for  the  whole 
world,  are  known  to  him !  You  wrap  your  mantle  round  you, 
and  you  say,  ^^How  close  and  how  secret  can  I  keep  my  coun- 
sel!'^ God's  burning  eye  is  fixed  upon  it  all — that  eye  which 
sees  and  searches  and  penetrates  all  space,  and  reads  clearly  and 
legibly  our  inmost  thoughts.  What  an  idea  is  this,  that,  in  the 
judgment-day,  man's  secret  thoughts  will  be  set  in  the  light  of 
God's  countenance !  What  a  fearful  spectacle  for  those  that  rise 
from  the  dead  as  lost  souls,  when  they  behold  that  terrible  light 
which  has  no  shadow,  no  relief,  nothing  to  soften  its  intense  bril- 
liancy, shining  upon  every  thought  in  the  past,  every  prospect  in 
the  future,  every  feeling  in  the  present — a  spectacle  so  fearful 
that  the  lost  souls  shall  cry  to  the  everlasting  hills  to  hide  them, 
and  the  great  sea  to  shelter  them  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb- 
And  blessed,  blessed  indeed  is  that  man's  soul  that  can  say,  then 
and  there,  ''I  am  guilty,  but  Jesus  is  my  Saviour;  I  am  a  sinner, 
but  that  precious  blood  is  my  plea;  I  am  lost  in  Adam,  but  retrieved 
in  Christ :  and  I  know  that  he  to  whom  I  have  committed  all  will 
behold  not  me,  for  in  me  there  is  nothing  worthy  of  love,  but 
behold  my  substitute,  and  me  in  him,  that  died  for  me  and 
became  sin  for  me,  that  I  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him." 

The  king,  we  are  told  in  this  passage,  was  driven  from  his 
throne  to  wander  with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  degraded  and  de- 
posed, as  the  appropriate  penalty  of  his  special  sin.  What  was 
the  king's  special  sin?     Pride.     What- was  God's  providential 


142  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

pimisliment  ?  Degradation.  Generally  speaking,  you  may  read 
your  sin  in  the  light  of  your  punishment.  Not  always,  but  gene- 
rally speaking,  the  punishment  is  just  the  rebound  of  the  sin. 
And  if  you  will  examine  it  very  carefully  in  the  light  of  God's 
truth,  in  the  punishment  or  chastisement  which  you  are  now  un- 
dergoing, you  will  probably  be  able  to  trace  the  reason  why  God 
has  inflicted  it.  God  sends  the  punishment,  not  simply  to  wean 
you  from  the  way  that  is  evil,  but  to  reveal  by  the  light  of  the 
furnace  in  which  he  places  you,  the  sin  that  has  seduced  you,  and 
drawm  down' upon  you,  like  the  conductor,  the  lightning  of  God's 
judgment.  Was  not  this  the  case  with  the  recent  pestilence 
that  visited  us?  In  the  punishment  we  saw  one  sin,  at  least, 
that  brought  it  down — the  neglect  of  the  poor — the  absence  of 
all  sanatory  reform — one  of  the  greatest  social  evils  of  the  present 
day.  "VVe  savf  thus  in  our  punishment  the  sin  which,  as  a  peo- 
ple, we  had  indulged.  There  were  other  sins,  I  dare  say,  many 
others;  but  this  was  one  which  the  judgment  directly  pointed 
out  to  us.  And  I  trust  we  shall  show  that  the  punishment  has 
been  sanctified  to  us,  by  every  man  in  his  place  discharging  man- 
fully the  special  duty  to  the  poor  that  clearly  devolves  upon  him. 

It  is  stated  also,  that  the  king  acknowledged,  after  his  punish- 
ment, that  "God  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of 
heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth."  God  has  not 
simply  "prescience,"  but  he  has  "purpose."  It  is  not  true 
simply  that  God  foreknows  what  will  come  to  pass;  but,  if  the 
Bible  speaks  truth,  as  we  know  it  does,  he  also  purposes  the 
event  that  is  to  take  place.  Prophecy  is  holy  men  becoming  the 
amanuenses  of  God's  truth;  history  is  holy  and  unholy  men  be- 
coming the  amanuenses  of  God's  providence.  God  writes  the 
prophecy  in  Scripture,  and  God  fulfils  the  prophecy  in  history; 
and  yet,  when  he  does  so,  God  is  not  the  author  of  sin.  God, 
though  the  author  of  all  that  is  good,  is  not  the  author  of  any 
thing  that  is  sinful:  nor  is  man  a  mere  automaton  impelled 
irresistibly  in  its  course;  but  he  is  a  rational,  reflecting,  respon- 
sible being,  deliberately  choosing  what  he  thinks  to  be  best  or 
most  expedient  for  him. 

We  learn  another  lesson  from  this  histoiy :  that  prosperity  is  a 
very  dangerous  position.     It  is  not  the  man  who  has  lost  his 


PRIDE   ABASED.  143 

property  wlio  is  most  likely  to  forget  God;  but  tlie  man  who  has 
obtained  a  fortune,  or  made  a  most  successful  speculation,  or  had 
left  to  him  a  large  property.  It  is  not  the  empty  cup  that  we 
have  any  difficulty  in  holding;  it  requires  the  utmost  nicety  to 
balance  the  cup  that  is  full  to  the  brim.  Adversity  may  depress; 
but  prosperity  elevates  us  to  presumption.  And  if,  as  I  have 
often  told  you,  you  ought  to  intimate  that  the  prayers  of  the  con- 
gregation are  requested  for  a  member  of  this  church  in  deep 
affliction,  you  ought  much  oftener  to  say  that  the  prayers  of  the 
congregation  are  requested  for  a  member  who  has  been  visited 
with  great  prosperity.  Depend  upon  it  that  the  latter  needs 
prayer  just  as  much  as  the  former.  In  the  valleys,  where  all  is 
shadow,  we  can  walk  securely.  On  the  lofty  pinnacle,  where  all 
is  sunshine,  we  need  a  special  power  to  keep  us,  a  special  arm  to 
sustain  us.  If  we  take  the  experience  of  the  church  of  Christ, 
we  shall  find  that  the  man  that  draws  closest  to  God  has  gene- 
rally had  the  least  of  the  blessings  of  his  providence.  The  Scotch 
fir-tree  is,  to  my  mind,  the  best  symbol  of  the  Christian.  The 
least  of  earth  is  required  for  its  roots;  it  finds  nourishment  in  a 
dry  soil  and  amid  barren  rocks,  and  yet,  green  in  winter  as  in 
summer,  it  towers  the  highest  of  all  the  trees  of  the  wood  to- 
ward the  sky,  and  with  least  of  earth  makes  the  greatest  approach 
to  heaven.  So  it  is  with  the  tree  of  God's  planting:  with  the 
least  of  earth  about  its  roots  it  towers  the  nearest  to  heaven;  de- 
riving nourishment,  not  from  the  earth  below,  but  from  the  sun- 
beams that  fall  upon  it,  and  the  rain-drops  that  sprinkle  it, 
supported  by  that  hidden  nourishment  that  comes  from  God. 

We  learn  from  Daniel's  address  to  the  king,  that  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  ought  to  be  faithful.  Daniel  told  the  king  honestly 
the  whole  truth,  and  was  not  afraid.  Truth  needs  not  to  be  pre- 
faced with  apology.  If  what  the  minister  says  be  not  true,  no 
apology  can  palliate  it;  if  it  be  true,  an  apology  is  not  required. 
When  the  minister  speaks  God's  blessed  word,  he  ought  to  know 
but  two  classes — those  that  are  sinners  by  nature,  and  those  that 
are  saved  by  grace.  Whatever  be  their  rank,  their  age,  their 
wisdom,  their  renown,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  these — we 
have  only  to  do  with  this,  that  they  belong  to  that  great  categoiy 
which  has  had  so  continuous  a  succession — the  category  of  sin- 


144  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

nors;  or  to  tliat  blessed  one  that  shall  never  fail — the  company 
of  God's  faithful,  redeemed,  and  regenerated  people. 

We  learn  also  from  the  experience  of  the  monarch,  the  bless- 
ings of  affliction.  Nebuchadnezzar  said,  after  his  affliction,  what 
he  had  never  dreamed  of  submitting  to  think  of  before;  and  I 
have  no  doubt,  he  could  say  as  sincerely  as  David  said,  ^^It  is 
good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted."  When  God  hides  the 
sun  by  day,  he  reveals  to  us  a  thousand  suns  by  night.  It  is  in 
the  dark  that  we  see  a  vision  which  the  day  refuses  to  present  to 
us.  It  is  in  afflictions  that  we  learn  lessons  which  we  never 
could  have  learned  in  prosperity.  And  you  know  that  on  a  sick- 
bed, in  the  moment  of  an  expected  wreck,  in  the  hour  of  bitter 
and  sorrowful  bereavement,  feelings  were  created,  emotions  felt, 
vows  were  uttered,  (and  if  they  were  uttered,  do  you  hold  to  them 
still  ?)  resolutions  cherished,  that  made  you  say.  If  it  be  bitter  in 
experience  to  be  afflicted,  it  is  blessed  in  the  result.  The  storms 
of  winter,  the  frosts  and  winds  of  autumn,  strip  the  tree  of  its 
foliage  and  clothe  it  with  icicles;  but  it  is  while  the  tree  is  thus 
shaken  and  laid  bare  by  the  tempest  that  it  strikes  its  roots  deeper 
into  the  earth,  seeking  warmth  and  shelter  below,  as  it  loses 
warmth  and  shelter  above.  And  then,  next  spring,  it  comes 
forth  with  greater  energy,  casts  out  its  foliage  with  greater  beau- 
ty, and  is  prepared  to  meet  and  master  succeeding  storms  with 
far  easier  victory.  So  it  is  with  the  Christian :  it  is  during  the 
winter  of  affliction  that  he  strengthens  himself. 

But  the  great  lesson  we  are  to  learn  from  this  chapter,  and 
which  is  the  lesson  inculcated  in  my  text,  is  the  last;  it  is  a  les- 
son which  is  precious  indeed,  and  one  which  God  has  been  incul- 
cating ever  since  the  world  bcgan^—'^  Those  which  walk  in  pride, 
God  is  able  to  abase."  The  whole  history  of  God's  dealings  with 
mankind  is  a  commentary  on  this  text.  Man  once  started  on  the 
wings  of  pride :  he  tried  in  Paradise  to  soar  to  heaven :  his  frail 
wings  were  dissolved  by  the  blaze  of  that  sun  as  he  rose ;  he  fell : 
the  terrible  retribution  came :  and  he  learned,  in  the  cold  projected 
shadow  of  the  curse,  that  'Hhem  that  exalt  themselves,  God  is 
able  to  abase."  And  after  man  thus  fell,  we  have  to  see  whe- 
ther he  learned  in  his  ruin  the  lesson  he  would  not  learn  in  the 
time  of  his  happiness,  and  in  his  state  of  innocence.     Ciim  rose 


PRIDE   ABASED.  145 

before  God,  and  raised  a  fratricidal  hand  against  liis  brother  in 
the  exercise  of  that  very  pride  which  had  brought  the  curse  into 
the  world,  and  death,  ^^and  all  our  wo:'^  and  Cain  went  forth 
with  this  inscription,  legible  to  heaven,  upon  his  scathed  brow, 
^^  Them  that  walk  in  pride,  Grod  is  able  to  abase /^ 

After  Cain,  we  read  that  the  daughters  of  the  sons  of  God 
united  themselves  with  the  sons  of  men;  society  was  dissolved; 
profligacy  overflowed;  they  set  their  faces  against  heaven,  and 
and  cried,  '^Who  is  Lord  over  us?''  And  God  saw  that  the 
pride  and  wickedness  of  men  were  great;  the  windows  of  the 
heaven  and  the  fountains  of  the  earth  were  opened;  the  sky 
poured  down  rain,  and  earth  poured  out  floods;  and  the  ark, 
careering  with  its  favoured  exceptions  on  the  crests  of  the 
waves,  revealed  the  great  truth  which  was  here  disclosed  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  "  Them  that  walk  in  pride,  God  is  able  to 
abase/' 

And  even  after  this,  while  man  had  the  remains  of  wrecks, 
and  the  evidences  of  restoration  before  him,  instead  of  being- 
humbled  by  the  recollection  of  the  past,  and  trustful  in  the  God 
who  saves  the  meek,  they  began  to  build  a  tower  whose  top 
should  reach  to  the  heaven,  standing  upon  which  they  might 
laugh  at  such  judgments,  and  defy  the  Almighty  to  his  face. 
He  breathed  upon  them,  and  each  tongue  spake  confusion;  no 
man  understood  what  his  fellow-labourer  said;  the  work  was  ar- 
rested, the  attempt  failed,  and  man  was  again  taught  the  tmtli 
he  is  so  slow  to  learn,  "Them  that  walk  in  pride,  God  is  able  to 
abase.'' 

A  new  period  came  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  God  re- 
solved to  quell  the  pride  that  still  oozed  out,  not  instantly  crush- 
ing man  by  the  direct  expression  of  stupendous  power,  but  by 
the  operation  of  the  very  sin  of  pride  preparing  and  promoting 
the  destruction  of  him  who  is  its  victim.  We  find  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  great  kingdoms  beginning  to  emerge,  splendid 
palaces  built,  temples  raised  to  Ashtaroth  and  Baal,  and  shrines 
to  Isis  and  Osiris,  throughout  all  the  empires  of  the  world;  on 
which  God  makes  the  text  actual,  no  longer  by  the  sudden 
stroke  of  almighty  power,  but  by  the  sure,  though  slow  opera- 
tion of  those  very  principles  that  have  influenced  the  men  them- 

13 


146  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

selves.  For  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  Belshazzar,  and  Cyms,  and 
Alexander,  and  Caesar,  all  found,  though,  they  were  not  smitten 
down  by  the  thunderbolt  because  of  their  pride,  yet  that  the 
higher  they  soared,  only  the  deeper  and  the  more  disastrously 
did  they  fall :  and  never  did  nation  succeed  in  writing  on  the 
productions  of  its  wisdom  or  on  the  expressions  of  its  power,  ''  I 
sit  as  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and  shall  see  no  soitow,"  and, 
"  I  am  the  eternal  city,  and  of  my  kingdom  there  shall  be  no 
end,'^  before  another  hand  shot  through  the  cloud  and  inscribed 
below  man's  inscription  and  prophesy  of  eternity  for  himself, 
God's  record  of  the  doom  he  should  suffer,  ''Mene,  mene,  tekel, 
upharsin,"  ''  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found 
wanting/^  And  ever  as  man  said,  ^'I  will  ascend  to  heaven, 
and  fix  my  throne  raiiid  the  stars  of  God," — wherever  that  was 
said  and  the  attempt  made,  we  see  no  longer  the  glorious  proces- 
sion of  splendour,  of  power,  and  of  victory,  but  the  funeral  pro- 
cession that  moves  slowly  and  sadly  to  the  tomb.  And,  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  as  often  as  great  systems  have  arisen, 
which  have  thrust  out  God  and  put  in  man,  the  same  great 
result  has  invariably  followed.  What  is  Mohammedanism  ?  A 
compound  of  Christianity,  Judaism,  and  heathenism,  all  tending  to 
glorify  an  ambitious  impostor,  and  to  dishonour  G-od.  The  dried 
Euphrates,  the  waning  crescent,  all  are  teaching,  and  will  teach 
soon  with  tremendous  power,  ^'Them  that  walk  in  pride,  God  is 
able  to  abase.''  And  what  is  Popery?  The  magnifying  of  the 
priest  till  he  takes  the  place  of  God,  and  sits  in  the  temple  of 
God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were  God,  and  professing  him- 
self to  be  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  And  what  is  said  of  him? 
"Whom  the  Lord  will  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and. 
destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming,''  that  it  may  be  seen 
that  that  church  which  boasts  itself  eternal  is  most  temporary, 
and  that  he  who  sits  as  if  he  were  the  Lord  in  the  temple  is  but 
an  usurper  of  a  throne  that  belongs  not  to  him,  and  the  wearer 
of  assumptions  which  are  only  blasphemy  in  him  that  assumes 
them.  Let  it  be  the  autocrat  on  his  throne,  or  the  mob  in  the 
dyopa-y  let  it  be  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  palace,  or  antichrist  in 
his  temple,  it  is  God's  great  law — sure  as  the  heavens,  lasting  as 
his  word, — that'Hhem  that  walk  in  pride,  God  is  able  to  abase." 


PRIDE    ABASED.  147 

The  loftiest  cedar  of  Lebanon  shall  be  smitten  down ;  the  high- 
est oaks  of  Bashan  God  is  able  to  uproot.  He  has  brought 
down  the  mighty  from  their  seats^  and  exalted  the  humble  and 
meek. 

We  read  what  are  some  of  the  elements  of  human  pride  in 
that  beautiful  passage  in  Jeremiah:  "Let  not  the  wise  man 
glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his 
might;  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches."  And  wherever 
there  is  glorying  in  these — be  it  a  church — be  it  a  nation — be  it 
a  family — be  it  an  individual,  they  will  be  sure  to  find  them- 
selves soon  abased.  Man  is  not  to  be  proud  of  his  wisdom :  but 
we  generally  find  that  the  man  who  has  least  wisdom  is  the  most 
proud  of  the  little  he  possesses;  as  if,  conscious  of  its  emptiness, 
and  feeling  it  would  collapse,  he  hugs  it  the  closer,  and  makes 
the  most  of  it.  Is  it  not  too  true,  that  many  a  man  would  rather 
be  called  a  knave  than  be  thought  a  fool?  Power  is  another 
source  of  pride.  Has  not  philosophy  its  Nebuchadnezzar  as  well 
as  political  power?  Satan  is  very  aptly  described  by  Milton,  as 
saying, 

*'  Better  to  reign  in  hell  than  serve  in  heaven ;" 

and  have  we  not  met  with  many  a  one  who  had  rather  be  the 
head  of  the  village  than  a  subject  in  the  metropolis?  Such  is 
man's  lust  of  power;  and  wherever  such  love  of  power  is,  there 
it  will  be  brought  down.  Need  I  tell  you  that  man  is  proud  of 
wealth?  Money  is  the  idol  of  the  nineteeenth  century.  The 
banker's  pen  is  more  powerful  now  than  the  warrior's  sword  or 
the  statesman's  policy.  It  is  not  cabinets,  but  banks,  that  re- 
solve the  fixity  and  the  downfall  of  kingdoms.  It  is  the  stroke 
of  the  banker's  pen,  not  the  blow  of  the  general's  sword,  that 
determines  who  shall  conquer.  Camillus  of  old  cast  his  sword 
into  the  scale  when  the  conflict  was  dubious :  it  is  now  the 
money-lender,  who  casts  his  money-bags  into  the  scale,  and  deter- 
mines which  nation  shall  be  great.  All  the  difference  between 
the  mammon-worshipper  of  the  present  day  and  the  golden 
image-worshipper  of  Nebuchadnezzar  consists  in  this,  that  Ne- 
buchadnezzar dug  his  gold  from  earth,  melted  and  moulded  it 
into  a  golden  image,  and  caused  the  people,  by  the  sound  of  mu- 


148  rnoPHETic  studies. 

sic,  to  fall  down  and  Vv^orslilp  it;  and  now  man  digs  gold  from  the 
mine,  stamps  it  into  coins,  and,  by  appealing  to  the  lusts  and 
affections  of  the  human  heart,  making  these  the  sweet  music  to 
entice,  he  causes  men  to  fall  down  and  worship.  But  whenever 
man  thus  puts  wisdom,  or  wealth,  or  power,  in  the  room  of  God, 
or,  believing  in  God,  is  proud  of  the  one  or  the  other,  he  will 
learn — by  the  terrible  penalty  which,  if  he  be  an  unconverted 
man,  is  purely  penal,  but  if  he  be  a  Christian,  by  a  blessed  chas- 
tisement that  is  purely  paternal — that  ^Hhem  that  walk  in  pride, 
God  is  able  to  abase." 

I  might  allude  to  other  forms  of  pride  that  God  can,  and  will, 
surely  abase.  The  careless  sinner,  who  thinks  nothing  of  God, 
and  cares  nothing  about  his  soul,  walks  in  perilous  pride  upon  the 
brink  of  an  aAvful  precipice.  The  self-righteous  man,  who  thinks 
his  own  righteousness  good  enough  for  God,  and  Christ's  right- 
eousness too  worthless  to  be  accepted  by  him,  walks  in  pride.  The 
worldly-minded  man,  whose  living  is  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  the  lust 
of  the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of  life — walks  in  pride ;  and  God  will 
abase  him.  Pride  is  not  the  monopoly  of  those  that  ride  in  cha- 
riots and  wear  crowns  and  coronets.  Pride  grows  in  a  cellar  as 
well  as  in  a  royal  palace.  It  is  an  indigenous  weed.  It  is  not 
the  composition  of  the  idol  that  makes  the  idolatry,  but  it  is  the 
devotion  that  is  given  by  the  heart  to  that  idol,  whether  it  be 
wood,  or  brass,  or  stone.  There  may  be  pride  where  there  is  but 
a  single  sovereign,  greater  than  where  there  are  a  thousand.  There 
may  be  pride  in  the  possession  of  a  single  acre,  greater  and  more 
hateful  to  God,  than  in  the  possession  of  a  thousand  acres.  And 
where  it  exists,  we  learn  from  our  text,  and  from  all  experience, 
none  can  bring  it  down  but  one.  All  the  miracles  of  Moses  failed 
to  bring  down  the  pride  of  Pharaoh  :  all  the  preaching  down  and 
denouncing  of  pride  by  the  most  eloquent  preacher  that  ever 
spoke,  will  fail  to  abase  the  pride  of  a  single  individual  in  his  au- 
dience. The  wind  may  beat  upon  the  icicle ;  the  storm  and  the 
tempest  may  smite  it ;  the  earthquake  may  split  it ;  the  avalanche 
may  descend,  and  send  it  thundering  down  into  the  valley  below, 
but  only  the  sunbeam  can  thaw  and  melt  it.  Nothing  can  subdue 
the  pride  of  man's  heart  but  God — God,  in  the  rays  of  the  gos- 
pel.    Experience  will  never  do  it.     How  true  is  it  that,  often  as 


phiue  abased.  149 

we  have  found  cistern  upon  cistern,  that  we  have  laboriously  dug, 
to  be  emi^ty,  we  look  for  other  cisterns  still  ?     How  is  it,  that  of- 
ten as  we  find  flower  after  flower  to  fade  and  wither  the  instant  that 
we  touch  it,  yet  we  seek  after  other  flowers  still  ?    How  is  it,  that 
after  joy  on  joy  has  been  pursued,  and  has  perished  the  instant 
that  we  grasped  it,  we  yet  still  seek  after  joys  that  bloom  not 
upon  the  tree  of  time,  but  only  upon  the  tree  that  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  paradise  of  God  ?    It  is  because  we  do  not  like  to  be  indebted 
to  another.   Man  would  like  to  save  himself,  justify  himself,  regene- 
rate himself,  glorify  himself,  and  sing  songs  of  praise  throughout 
eternity  '^tome  that  loved  myself,  and  washed  myself,  tind  redeemed 
myself,  and  glorified  myself;  unto  me  be  glory  and  honour,  and 
blessing  and  praise  V     What  is  all  the  gospel  but  just  Grod  hum- 
bling the  heart  ?     What  is  justification  ?     God  laying  your  glory 
in  the  ditst,  and  placing  the  greatest  philanthropist  and  the  great- 
est criminal  on  the  same  dead  level  of  sin  and  condemnation ;  that 
when  they  have  learned  where  sin  has  laid  them,  they  may  be 
clothed  with  and  exalted  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  glory 
in  his  name  all  the  day  long,  and  realize  this  blessed  experience, 
that  when  we  begin  to  exalt  God,  God  will  begin  to  exalt  us. 
What  is  regeneration,  but  God's  Holy  Spirit  revealing  to  man 
what  is  in  his  own  real  nature,  and  that  his  flowers  are  w^eds,  his 
gold  is  dim — nay,  worse  than  dim,  worthless ;  that  his  sins  are 
his  own,  and  they  should  humble  him ;  that  his  graces  are  not 
his  own,  and  they  should  humble  him  also ;  and  that  he  can  no 
more  change  his  own  heart  than  he  can,  by  any  concentration  of 
his  physical  powers,  or  combined  action  of  his  muscles,  lift  him- 
self from  the  earth  a  single  foot  ?     When  God  has  thus  humbled 
man,  and  convinced  him  that  he  has  no  holiness  and  no  grace -of 
himself,  then  he  will  exalt  him.     The  man  whose  heart  has  been 
renewed  only  by  baptism,  will  praise  the  priest ;  but  the  man  whose 
heart  has  been  renewed  and  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  will 
magnify  and  praise  the  Lord  alone,  and  from  the  first  bud  to  the 
next  blossom,  and  the  last  fruit  of  a  holy  life,  he  will  give  all  the 
glory  unto  God. 

Do  I  speak  to  any  here  that  are  proud  ?  This  passion  is  in  us 
all :  it  is  human  nature ;  it  is  the  secret  of  many  of  our  miscar- 
ryings  :  it  is  the  cause  of  most  of  our  fiiilures.     You  say  you  do 

13^> 


150  PIlOniETIC    STUDIES. 

not  like  to  be  humble :  nobody  does  like  to  be  humble.  Man 
does  not  like  to  be  humbled  before  a  brother,  but  he  likes  much 
less  to  be  humbled  before  himself;  the  instinctive  pride  that  is  in 
him  rebelling  against  the  humility  that  sweeps  his  foundation  of 
self-sufficiency  from  beneath  him.  But  if  this  pride  be  not  abased 
in  mercy,  it  will  be  abased  in  judgment.  Think  of  the  goodness, 
the  mercy,  the  forgiveness  of  God,  that,  so  thinking,  you  may  be 
humble.  Think  of  what  human  nature  is ;  that  the  greatest 
criminal  who  commits  the  most  enormous  crime,  and  perishes  on 
the  scaffold  on  account  of  it,  is  an  alter  ego,  another  self,  actuated 
by  the  same  passions,  only  in  their  full  burst,  flow,  and  develop- 
ment ',  and  that,  except  for  the  grace  of  Grod,  that  criminal  might 
have  been  myself.  Think  of  this,  that  you  may  be  humble  be- 
fore God.  But  if  you  wish  to  be  humbled  in  the  very  dust,  read 
those  thrilling  words,  ''  God  so  loved  me,  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son  to  die  for  me  V  See  what  my  redemption  cost ! 
See  what  a  penalty  my  sin  demanded  !  See  what  my  ruin  is,  by 
the  height  from  which  the  Saviour  came,  and  the  depth  to  which 
the  Saviour  sank !  and  when  you  have  looked  at  that  cross,  and 
listened  to  that  suffering  cry,  and  beheld  that  completed  sacrifice, 
and  that  unbounded  love,  oh  !  then  such  grace — such  love — such 
mercy,  will  expel  pride  from  the  stubborn  heart  of  man ;  and  it 
will  do  what  judgment,  what  affliction,  what  preaching,  what  ex- 
perience has  failed  to  do — it  will  cause  you  to  abase  yourself  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  that  he  may  lift  you  up,  and  so  you  may 
be  exalted  in  due  time. 

Pray  for  that  Holy  Spirit  which  alone  can  melt  the  proud  heart ; 
and  when  it  has  changed  and  regenerated  that  heart,  then,  in 
lowliness  upon  earth,  you  will  bless  him,  and  on  a  throne  of  glory 
in  heaven,  you  will  magnify  him  ]  and  thank  God  throughout  all 
eternity  that  you  have  learned  in  mercy,  the  truth  which  so  many 
have  learned  in  judgment — '^  Them  that  walk  in  pride,  God  is 
able  to  abase." 


151 


LECTURE  XL 


THE    SCEPTRE    OF    GOD. 


"  Thy  kingdom  shall  be  sure  unto  thee,  after  that  thou  shalt  have  known  that 
the  heavens  do  rule." — Daniel  iv.  26. 

Nebuchadnezzar  "  learned  that  the  heavens  do  rule/^  as  we 
see  in  this  acknowledgment,  made  after  he  was  restored  to  his 
mind.  The  prediction  was  that  the  tree,  the  symbol  of  his  ma- 
jesty, should  be  cut  down ;  and  he  who  was  symbolized  by  that 
tree  should  be  driven  forth  to  herd  with  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
and  there  to  sufi"er  degradation  and  shame  till  he  learned  the  les- 
son that  he  had  forgotten,  that  "  God  reigns,^''  or,  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  the  text,  "  that  the  heavens  do  rulc.'^  And  you  will 
perceive  that  after  he  was  restored  he  says,  in  verse  3,  ^'  How 
great  are. his  signs  !  and  how  mighty  are  his  wonders  !"  and  then 
here  is  what  he  had  learned :  ''  His  kingdom  is  an  everlasting 
kingdom,  and  his  dominion  is  from  generation  to  generation. '' 
He  learned  the  lesson,  and  he  expressed  it  after  he  was  restored 
to  his  mind,  that  it  was  not  his  sceptre  that  controlled  the  worlds, 
but  the  sceptre  of  Him  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom, 
and  whose  dominion  endureth  from  generation  to  generation. 
The  proposition  I  should  wish  to  illustrate  is,  that  "  Glod  reigns,'' 
"that  the  heavens  do  rule.j"  and  in  endeavouring  to  do  so,  I  will 
look  first  at  some  of  the  difficulties  that  lie  in  the  way  of  our  ac- 
knowledgment of  this  fact.  There  is  nothing  that  man  is  more 
prone  to  dispute  than  the  living,  ever-present,  ever-active  supre- 
macy of  God.  There  is  an  universal  belief  that  God  loas,  there 
is  a  very  faint  belief  that  God  is :  there  is  an  impression  among 
some  that  God  made  the  world,  and  then  left  the  machinery  ta 
go  on  after  he  had  wound  it  up ;  and  that  since  he  made  it  he 
has  retired  from  the  world,  and  left  it  to  the  dominion  of  what 
philosophers  call  second  causes — what  infidels  call  accidents. 


152  rROPIIETlC    STUDIES. 

Now  then,  let  us  look  at  some  of  the  difficulties  that  lie  in  our 
way,  and  I  will  try  as  I  am  able  very  briefly  to  explain  them. 

First,  how  can  we  reconcile  the  entrance  of  sin  with  the  ex- 
istence, the  supremacy,  and  the  rule  of  Grod  ?  If  you  ask  men, 
Does  God  govern  the  world  ?  they  answer,  '^  Yes."  But  how  is 
it  compatible  with  the  government  of  a  wise,  a  merciful,  an  om- 
nipotent God,  that  sucli  an  intruder,  such  a  foul  disturber  of  the 
harmony  of  the  world  as  sin,  should  have  been  allowed  to  inter- 
polate itself,  and  occasion  apostasy,  rebellion,  and  discord  in  his 
suffering,  wide  dominions  ?  The  entrance  of  sin  is  not  the  dis- 
closure of  revelation,  but  the  disclosure  of  history,  of  experience, 
and  of  fact.  It  is  not  the  Christian  alone  who  is  called  upon  to 
explain  why  sin  is  come  into  the  world,  but  the  skeptic  himself. 
He  admits  the  existence  and  the  reign  of  a  God  :  he  must  admit 
the  fact  of  the  presence,  and  the  disturbing  power  of  sin.  If 
there  be  a  difficulty,  it  is  a  difficulty  also  at  the  door  of  the  skeptic, 
as  broad  and  as  palpable  as  that  which  lies  at  the  door  of  the 
Bible  Christian.  But  we  may  look  at  it  in  a  light  in  which  it 
may  appear  at  least  not  to  have  been  God's  fault,  if  I  may  reve- 
rently use  the  expression,  that  sin  has  entered  the  world.  He 
made  man  perfectly  free  and  unfettered,  with  every  bias  to  good, 
and  with  no  bias  to  evil ;  with  every  inducement  to  retain  his 
allegiance,  with  every  possible  dissuasive  against  the  violation  of 
that  allegiance.  He  gave  him  genius  to  originate — a  heart  t-o 
love — a  conscience,  the  realm  of  right  and  of  wrong ;  and,  of  ne- 
cessity, placed  him  under  a  law,  because,  if  there  be  no  law,  there 
can  be  no  lawgiver,  there  can  be  no  subject;  and,  if  no  subject, 
of  course  no  supreme  governor.  By  the  very  nature  of  the  crea- 
ture's constitution,  the  creature  must  be  placed  under  law.  Now 
when  he  placed  Adam  under  law,  God  might  by  his  omnipotence 
have  prevented  him  from  stretching  forth  his  hand  to  touch  ^he 
forbidden  fruit.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  because  he  might 
have  prevented  him,  therefore  he  o^igJu  to  have  prevented  him. 
It  may  be — nay,  we  are  sure  it  must  be — that  more  grand  and 
magnificent  results  will  yet  be  evolved  from  the  wrecks  of  Para- 
dise than  ever  could  have  been  reflected  from  it,  if  it  had  retained 
its  glory  undismantled  and  unshorn,  even  to  the  age  in  which  we 
now  live.     And  to  show  how  fallacious  is  the  argument,  tliat  be- 


THE   SCEPTRE   OF   GOD.  153 

cause  God  could  have  prevented  man,  therefore  he  ought  to  have 
done  so,  I  may  observe,  man  has  it  in  his  power  to  destroy  him- 
self; he  may  throw  himself  over  a  precipice,  or  cast  himself  into 
the  sea :  God  might,  by  the  exercise  of  omnipotence,  have  ren- 
dered this  impossible  :  but  then  the  very  impossibility  of  it  would 
have  reflected  deeper  discredit  on  the  creature ;  for  the  creature 
would  not  have  been  a  free  and  unshackled  being,  in  which  he 
glories  as  his  dignity,  but  an  automaton — a  piece  of  machinery, 
moved  by  extraneous  impulses,  without  a  will  to  determine,  a 
conscience  to  feel,  or  a  judgment  to  reflect.  Or,  to  use  another 
illustration,  if  a  man  goes  to  put  his  hand  into  the  fire,  God  tells 
that  man,  by  the  experience  of  others,  and  by  the  exercise  of  his 
reason,  "  If  you  put  your  hand  into  the  fire  you  will  burn  it  and 
sufi"er  pain.''  That  is  the  plan  he  has  adopted :  he  might  have 
taken  the  plan  you  propose,  and  by  the  fiat  of  omnipotence  have 
rendered  it  a  physical  impossibility  for  the  man  to  burn  his  hand. 
But  he  has  not  done  so  :  he  has  shown  man  that  if  he  puts  his  hand 
in  the  fire  it  is  sure  to  be  burned  3  and  man,  knowing  what  the 
efiect  of  the  act  will  be,  is  thus  deterred  from  the  commission  of 
it.  Such  was  the  case  with  Adam  in  Paradise.  God  did  not 
draw  back  his  arm  by  a  physical  restraint  from  touching  the  for- 
bidden fruit;  but  he  told  man,  ^^If  you  touch  that  fruit  you  bring 
death  into  the  world  and  all  your  wo ;  it  rests  with  you,  as  a  free 
and  responsible  being,  to  touch  it  and  perish,  or  to  abstain  and 
live  for  ever."  Do  we  not  then  thus  "  vindicate  the  ways  of  God 
to  man,"  and  show  that  by  permitting  sin,  not  sending  it,  he 
treated  man  as  a  rational  and  responsible  being,  and  that  man 
could  not  have  been  placed,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  in  circumstances 
more  favourable  to  obedience,  compatibly  with  the  dignity  of  his 
own  nature,  or  in  circumstances  more  calculated  to  set  forth  the 
wisdom,  the  beneficence,  the  love,  the  holiness,  and  the  justice 
of  him  who  rules  in  the  heavens,  and  constituted  man  once  his 
vicegerent  upon  earth  ? 

Another  difficulty  in  recognising  the  truth  contained  in  my 
text,  that  God  lives  and  reigns,  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  pre- 
sent generation  is  often  found  to  sufier  for  the  sins  of  the  past, 
and  that  the  children  of  to-day  inherit  the  consequences  of  the 
sins  of  their  fathers  of  yesterday,  and  of  former  generations.     If 


154  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

this  be  very  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  fact  that  God  reigns, 
let  it  be  remembered  it  is  not  a  text  in  the  Bible  only,  but  it 
is  a  fact  in  the  history  of  mankind;  it  is  not  asserted  in  the 
Bible  only  that  it  shall  be  so,  but  it  is  proved  to  our  senses,  and 
is  legible  in  the  chronicles  of  every  land,  that  it  actually  is  so. 
And  therefore,  if  it  be  difficult  to  reconcile  it  with  the  truth  that 
God  reigns,  it  is  a  difficulty  that  the  skeptic  must  feel  just  as 
strongly  as  the  Christian;  but  the  Christian  alone  will  try  to 
show  that  possibly  there  are  in  this  fact — that  children  suffer  for 
the  father's  sins — lessons  of  the  greatest  possible  goodness  and 
practical  value.  May  it  not  be  to  teach  us  that  we  have  an  inte- 
rest in  all  that  are  around  us,  and  that  the  well-being  of  our  child 
should  be  as  precious  to  us  as  our  own  ?  that  man  is  a  work  not 
for  himself  only,  but  for  others  ?  that  if  a  man  sin,  the  rebound 
of  his  sin  will  be  felt,  not  only  in  himself,  but  in  his  children  and 
his  children's  children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generations  ?  This 
great  fact  is  fitted  to  make  men  feel,  by  reasons  the  most  pressing 
and  the  most  powerful,  that  it  is  their  interest,  and  the  interest 
of  their  offspring,  that  they  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly.  And  what  seems  to  be  a  hardship  is  really  a  mercy,  fitted 
to  arouse  all  man's  feelings  against  sin,  and  to  lead  him  by  the 
deepest  instincts  of  his  nature  to  guard  against  that  which  will 
not  only  ruin  himself,  but  transmit  suffering,  and  pain,  and  tribu- 
lation to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  his  descendants. 

Another  fact  that  occurs  in  the  government  of  God,  very  dif- 
ficult at  first  sight  to  reconcile  with  the  fact  of  that  government, 
is  the  strange  procedure  which  sends  one  sinner  to  punish  an- 
other, and  one  wrong-doer  to  avenge  the  misconduct  and  the 
crimes  of  another.  For  instance.  Napoleon  was  employed  or 
commissioned  to  punish  the  sins  of  profligate  Europe;  and  at  an 
earlier  epoch,  Cyrus,  to  execute  judgment  upon  Babylon;  and,  at 
a  period  later  than  the  last,  Titus  and  A'espasian  and  the  Eoman 
sword,  to  punish  the  disobedience  and  the  gross  transgressions  of 
his  people  Israel.  It  is  asked,  How  can  you  reconcile  this  with 
the  fact  that  God  reigns,  when  lie  might  himself  punish  by  the 
direct  interposition  of  his  hand  ?  Does  it  not  seem  incompatible 
with  our  conceptions  of  his  holiness,  that  he  should  employ  men 
so  profligate  to  execute  his  purposes,  which  are  in  themselves  so 


TFIK    SCErTRE   OF    GOD.  155 

pure  T  Tliat  he  does  so  is  not  a  declaration  of  Scripture  only, 
but  it  is  a  cliapter  in  tlie  history  of  every  nation  upon  earth :  God 
says  himself,  "0  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger;  I  will  send 
him  against  an  hypocritical  nation,  against  the  people  of  my 
wrath  will  I  give  him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil  and  to  take  the 
prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  as  the  mire  in  the  streets.'^  May 
it  not  be  to  teach  men  this  yet  more  effectually  than  if  God  had 
interposed  by  a  direct  manifestation  of  his  own  right  hand,  that 
when  sinners  have  ceased  to  rely  upon  God  it  is  folly  to  rely 
upon  one  another?  ]May  it  not  be  to  teach  mankind  that  no 
conspiracy  of  wicked  men,  however  great,  and  however  secretly 
concocted,  is  without  an  element  of  internal  destruction,  disor- 
ganization, and  decay?  If  all  men  in  the  world  could  form  a 
conspiracy  that  would  last,  it  would  be  a  very  formidable  thing; 
but  history  shows  us  that  if  bad  men  combine,  there  are  elements 
of  disorganization  and  ruin  in  the  combination,  so  real  and  so 
active,  that  before  many  years  have  swept  over  the  conspiracy, 
one  will  rise  up  against  the  other,  and  that  which  was  designed 
to  dethrone  the  Almighty,  will  end  in  the  destruction  of  those 
that  concoetod  it. 

A  very  difficult  thing  to  reconcile  with  the  doctrine  that  God 
reigns,  is  the  fact  that  infants  die.  But  this  fact  is  not  only  de- 
clared in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  proved  in  every  page  of  the  chroni- 
cles of  every  family  as  well  as  of  every  land.  Infants  do  die, 
though  free  from  actual  transgression  -,  this  is  matter  of  fact ;  and 
there  may  be  in  that  occurrence  not  what  is  inconsistent  with  the 
reign  of  God,  but  what  is  eminently  calculated  to  make  that  reign 
more  palpable  to  man's  mind.  The  babes  die  to  teach  us  that 
original  sin  is  an  actual  thing,  and  to  show  that  some  terrible 
disaster  has  fallen  upon  all  mankind,  which  blights  the  flower 
that  has  just  budded  and  bloomed  to-day,  as  well  as  the  gray- 
haired  sire,  on  whose  head  the  snows  of  threescore  years  and  ten 
have  fallen.  And  if  it  be  true,  that  all  babes  who  die  in  infancy 
are  without  exception  saved,  as  true  I  believe  it  to  be,  then  it  is 
not  cruelty  to  the  babes, — it  is  making  it  a  missionary  to  the 
parents,  and  teaching  a  lesson  which  man  would  deny  if  only 
actual  sinners  were  cut  off,  and  babes  who  have  never  sinned 
were  universally  spared. 


156  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

We  see  every  day  the  fact,  that  parents  are  taken  from  their 
children  in  the  midst  of  their  lives,  and  their  offsiDring  cast  de- 
pendent on  the  wide  world.  This  appears  to  us  a  cruel  thing, 
and  we  wonder  how  it  is  possible  to  reconcile  it  with  the  provi- 
dential government  of  God.  Yet  there  may  be  lessons  latent  in 
it  which  we  do  not  see ;  it  may  be  to  teach  the  parents  to  work 
while  it  is  called  to-day,  and  discharge  to  their  offspring  the  duties 
that  they  owe,  not  knowing  how  long  the  opportunity  may  be 
given  them;  and  thus  to  make  parental  instruction  more  earnest, 
and  parental  duties  more  faithfully  discharged,  because  there  is 
ever  present  a  deep  sense  of  the  possibility  of  the  severance  of 
ties  so  beautiful  and  divine,  and  the  loss  of  the  opportunity  of 
giving  those  instructions  which  shall  be  the  happiness  of  the 
child  upon  earth,  and  its  yet  greater  and  richer  happiness  in 
glory. 

Another  difficulty  in  receiving  the  truth  that  God  reigns,  is 
the  fact  that  vice  and  dishonesty  are  sometimes  prosperous  and 
triumphant,  while  piety  and  goodness  are  sometimes  depressed. 
It  is  so ;  the  Bible  says  that  it  will  be  so ;  but  it  also  explains 
the  reason  why.  This  is  not  the  dispensation  of  absolute  justice. 
In  hell  the  wicked  universally  suffer;  in  heaven  the  holy  are 
universally  happy.  In  this  world  the  two  parties  are  mingled, 
and  we  see  sometimes  bad  men  prosper  and  sometimes  good  men 
suffer.  But  if  all  good  men  prospered  upon  earth,  then  men 
would  profess  religion  for  the  sake  of  its  temporal  benefits ;  if 
good  men,  on  the  other  hand,  always  suffered  upon  earth,  men 
might  bo  deterred  from  joining  the  ranks  of  Christianity,  because 
it  would  be  joining  the  ranks  of  martyrs.  But,  under  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  good  men  sometimes  suffer  and  sometimes  prosper, 
and  we  are  thus  taught  to  cleave  to  the  gospel  because  it  is  the 
mind  of  God,  and  to  accept  duty  because  it  is  duty,  and  not  on 
account  of  the  temporal  rewards  to  which  it  may  conduct  us,  or 
the  temporal  penalties  from  which  it  may  possibly  save  us.  The 
tares  and  the  wheat  grow  in  the  same  field ;  it  is  right  that  they 
should  thus  grow  together  till  the  harvest;  and  whenever  the 
effort  is  made  to  separate  them  now,  it  ends  in  the  injury  of  the 
wheat,  and  not  the  rooting  up  permanently  of  the  tares. 

Another  great  difficulty  which  occurs  in  receiving  the  great 


THE    SCEPTRE   OF   GOD.  157 

tnitli  that  the  heavens  do  rule,  is  the  lengthened  lives  of  many- 
bad  men,  and  the  short  lives  and  premature  deaths  of  really  good 
and  devoted  men.  For  instance,  Voltaire  lived  to  upward  of 
eighty;  Paine  to  a  considerable  age;  Napoleon  passed  the  meri- 
dian of  life:  if  Voltaire,  Paine,  and  Napoleon  had  perished  in 
their  cradles,  how  much  mischief  would  the  world  have  escaped ! 
how  much  injury  and  suffering  would  mankind  have  been  spared ! 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  argue,  if  such  men  as  Cecil,  and 
Howell,  and  Newton,  and  Edward  Bickersteth,  and  Chalmers  had 
been  spared  to  eighty,  ninety,  or  one  hundred  years  of  age,  what 
blessings  would  the  world  have  reaped  thereby!  So  we  natu- 
rally infer;  but  if  we  could  lift  the  curtain  and  see  the  reasons 
that  are  behind  it,  we  should  find  that  there  were  good  reasons 
why  Voltaire  should  be  spared  to  eighty,  and  Bickersteth  should 
be  cut  off  at  sixty;  and  reasons,  perhaps,  that  are  more  connected 
with  the  real  well-being  of  man,  and  with  the  glory  of  God,  than 
we  are  at  first  disposed  to  believe.  One  lesson  taught  us  by  the 
fact  that  good  men  perish  early  is,  that  we  must  be  more  active; 
their  mantles  are  bequeathed  to  us — the  places  they  have  vacated 
are  for  us  to  fill ;  and  it  becomes  us,  therefore,  ever  as  the  good 
and  the  great  fall  like  fruits  that  are  ripe  from  the  tree  of  life,  to 
take  their  place  and  enter  upon  their  duties,  and  try,  however 
feebly,  by  the  grace  of  that  God  who  gives  his  strength  to  the 
weak  and  his  grace  to  all  that  ask  it,  to  supply  to  mankind 
the  great  loss,  they  have  sustained  by  the  departure  of  men  so 
good,  so  beneficent,  and  so  useful.  Besides,  when  we  look  at 
these  things,  we  are  apt  to  think  only  of  this  world ;  but  when 
God  called  Bickersteth  to  himself,  and  said  to  him,  ^'  Come  up 
hither,'^  it  was  because  Bickersteth's  work  in  this  world  was 
finished,  and  God  had  work  for  him  to  do  in  a  higher,  a  better, 
and  a  nobler  world,  whence  he  shall  no  more  be  removed.  We 
look  at  matters  selfishly  when  we  think  of  this  world  only,  and 
forget  that  there  are  other  worlds  where  there  may  be  sublime 
missions  to  be  discharged  still ;  and  that  those  men  have  not 
ceased  to  labour,  but  have  only  laid  aside  the  robe  of  the  Levite 
who  ministers  outside  the  vail,  to  put  on  the  sacred  vestments  of 
the  priest,  to  minister  before  the  altar,  and  in  the  Hoi}'"  of  Holies 
for  ever  and  ever. 

.    14 


158  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

There  is  another  thought  too,  that  occurs  to  us  as  a  difficulty  in 
recognising  the  government  of  God — the  afflictions  of  the  people 
of  God.  Why  do  we  see  them  suffer  ?  why  do  we  see  them  be- 
reaved, deprived  of  their  property,  afflicted  with  disease,  laid 
aside?  Why  is  this?  There  are  good  reasons  for  it;  and  some 
of  these  the  Bible  gives  us.  "It  is  good  for  me,"  says  one,  "that 
I  was  afflicted;"  another  says,  "Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but 
for  a  moment,  worketh  out  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding,  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory."  Human  nature,  like  the  sons  of  Zebedee, 
would  like  to  sit  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left  hand  of  the 
Saviour,  but  we  do  not  want  to  drink  of  the  Saviour's  cup.  Yet 
he  fixes  the  dispensation  that  suits  us;  and  God,  who  superin- 
tends the  action  of  the  dispensation,  will  take  care  that  our  afflic- 
tions shall  not  be  too  great,  nor  too  many,  nor  too  heavy,  nor  too 
long,  as  Satan  would  like  them;  nor  too  light,  nor  too  few,  nor 
too  short,  as  we  should  like  them;  but  that  they  shall  be  just 
what  is  most  expedient  for  us,  conducive  to  our  good,  and  illus- 
trative of  his  glory. 

It  is  thus  that  I  have  pointed  out  some  of  the  difficulties  tha*" 
lie  in  the  way  of  our  accepting  the  truth  contained  in  the  text, 
that  the  "  heavens  do  rule."  And  I  have  tried  to  show,  or 
rather  to  suggest,  that  there  may  be  good  reasons,  though  we 
cannot  see  them  all,  why  all  that  man  supposes  to  be  irreconcila- 
ble with  the  sceptre  and  supremacy  of  God,  may  not  only  be  re- 
concilable with  it,  but  may  be  also  calculated  to  cast  greater  glory 
upon  his  name,  and  to  diffuse  more  extensive  blessings  among 
all  the  children  of  God  scattered  throughout  the  world.  Let  us 
then,  in  looking  at  the  fact  that  "God  rules,"  remember  that  he 
has  designs  of  ultimate  good  to  us  and. of  ultimate  glory  to  him- 
self, which  it  may  be  most  important  for  us  to  see  worked  out  in 
the  world.  For  instance,  God  suffers  sin  to  develop  itself  upon 
earth  into  crimes  and  horrible  calamities.  He  may  be  doing  so, 
not  because  he  hates  us,  for  that  he  does  not,  nor  because  he 
would  punish  the  guilty  criminal — that  will  be  a  very  minor  rea- 
son— but  because  this  earth  on  which  we  live  is  the  great  Icssou- 
book  of  the  universe;  and  it  may  be  that  the  inhabitants  of 
sister  orbs  and  of  sister  stars  may  be  grouped  in  gazing  clusters 
around  this  distant  spot  in  the  universe,  and  may  be  looking 


THE   SCEPTRE   OF   GOD.  159 

down  and  seeing,  beyond  the  reach  of  its  contagion,  what  terri- 
ble issues  are  treasured  up  in  that  terrible  thing  sin,  and  what  it 
would  do  if  all  the  restrictions  were  withdrawn,  and  it  were  left 
to  create  on  earth,  and  to  work  out  that  hell,  which  it  has 
wrought  out  in  some  sequestered  place  in  the  world,  where  the 
worm  never  dies,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched. 

It  may  be  we  are  apt  to  form  conclusions  that  certain  things 
are  irreconcilable  with  the  government  of  God,  from  our  only 
seeing  a  portion  of  their  action.  If  you  see  only  the  foundation 
of  a  house,  you  ought  not  thence  to  judge  what  will  be  the 
splendour  of  its  superstructure:  if  you  read  the  title-page  of  a 
book,  you  ought  not,  as  many  do,  to  say,  the  book  is  a  false  book, 
or  a  bad  book,  because  you  have  only  read  the  title-page :  and  if 
you  see  but  some  of  the  outside  and  less  significant  machinery 
of  Providence,  and  cannot  see  the  inner  machinery  which  is  with 
himself,  the  spring,  and  the  issue,  it  is  not  right  to  judge  of 
what  things  are,  by  the  partial  and  defective  view  we  are  able  to 
obtain  of  them.  Take,  for  instance,  the  history  of  Joseph; 
when  you  saw  Joseph  cast  into  the  pit,  sold  to  the  merchants, 
accused  of  an  oifence  by  the  wife  of  Potiphar,  thrown  into  a 
dungeon;  one  would  have  said,  if  you  had  stopped  there  and 
seen  no  further,  "What  an  unfortunate  lad  is  that!  excel- 
lent in  his  character,  he  seems  to  be  the  most  unfortunate  in 
life."  But  if  you  could  have  lived  to  see  him  at  the  right  hand 
of  Pharaoh — if  you  could  have  lived  to  see  him  save  his  nation 
from  destruction,  and  ultimately  triumph  over  all  his  trials, — 
you  woukt  have  said,  How  wonderful  in  working  is  that  God 
who  overrules  the  passions  of  man,  restrains  his  wrath,  and 
makes  the  remainder  of  it  to  praise  him !  And  how  rashly  do  we 
often  judge. 

Again,  when  we  reflect  on  such  scenes  as  the  French  Pvcvolu- 
tion  of  1792,  to  take  the  most  dreadful  one,  you  cannot  under- 
stand how  it  could  be  that,  if  there  be  a  God  that  ruleth  in  hea- 
ven, men  should  have  been  so  left  to  themselves  by  that  God, 
and  within  his  dominions,  as  to  perpetrate  the  crimes  which  can 
barely  be  mentioned,  and  the  murders  and  atrocities  which  the 
historian  is  scarcely  able  to  enumerate.  But  now  that  we  have 
seen  what  it  w^as,  and  have  learned  what  lessons  were  to  be  de 


160  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

diiced  from  it^  we  can  show  that  it  was  first  to  punish  the  profli- 
gacy of  an  eminently  profligate  people;  and,  secondly,  it  was  to 
prove  Yfhat  a  people  can  do  and  will  do  that  has  cast  off  God; 
and  it  was  next  to  teach  us  that  the  experiment  has  been  tried, 
and  in  every  case  turned  out  not  merely  a  fiiilure,  but  absolute 
destruction  to  them  that  made  it,  that  the  world  cannot  be  car- 
ried on  without  religion :  and  that  society  cannot  cohere  without 
God;  in  the  words  of  Robespierre,  the  sanguinary  despot  of  that 
terrible  era,  "If  there  be  not  a  God,  we  must  make  one,  in  order 
to  make  society  hold  together/^  The  atheist  in  his  blasphemy 
proclaimed  God  almost  as  distinctly  as  the  Christian  who  says, 
''God  reigns,  and  the  heavens  do  rule/' 

In  the  next  place,  we  have  to  learn  too,  in  looking  at  all  these 
difficulties,  that  God,  in  dealing  v/ith  mankind,  and  in  ruling 
over  them,  does  not  contemplate  in  his  dealings  one  generation, 
but  successive  generations.  We  see  one  whole  generation  suffer, 
and  we  think  it  incompatible  with  the  goodness  of  God :  but  if 
Ave  look  to  the  next  generation  we  shall  discover  that  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  first  were  preparing  the  soil  for  seeds  to  be  cast  into 
it,  which  were  designed  to  grow  up  and  ripen  into  precious  har- 
vests of  happiness  and  peace  to  future  ones.  In  order,  there- 
fore, to  judge  of  God's  designs,  and  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness 
of  his  government,  you  must  look,  not  at  one  particular  genera- 
tion, but  at  all  the  generations  of  mankind,  and  be  content  to 
discover  that  your  sufferings  in  the  present  may  grow  up  and 
burst  into  blessings  lasting  as  the  stars,  for  generations  that  are 
yet  to  follow  you. 

And  in  the  next  place,  we  must  view  all  that  God  does  in 
this  world  in  connection  with  another  world.  Recollect  that 
this  world  is  but  the  pilgrimage  through  which  we  are  passing, 
and  the  next  world  is  the  home  to  which  we  are  going;  and 
what  seems  irreconcilable  with  God's  government,  when  beheld 
in  the  light  of  this  world,  may  be  seen  to  be  not  only  reconcila- 
ble with  it,  but  richly  illustrating  its  beneficence  and  wisdom, 
when  viewed  in  the  light  of  that  future  world  for  which  God  is 
preparing  his  people,  and  toward  which  they  are  journeying  as 
strangers  and  pilgrims  through  this  present  world.  This  world 
is  but  a  nook — a  little   tiny  nook — in   the  vast   domains  over 


THE    SCEPTRE    OF   GOD.  161 

which  God's  sceptre  stretches.  If  it  were  possible  to  conceive 
of  a  flj  being  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  reason  for  a  moment 
— and  if  that  fly  were  crawling  about  the  cornice  of  one  of  the 
pillars  of  St.  Peter's  cathedral,  it  might  perhaps  say,  ^' What  a 
paltry,  contemptible  place  this  is !  these  cornices  seem  to  be  do- 
ing no  good;  what  is  the  use  of  them?  what  a  mean  little  place 
it  is,  and  how  unworthy  of  the  architect  who  planned  it?"  We 
should  say,  if  we  heard  its  reasoning,  it  was  the  smallness  of  the 
insect,  and  the  limited  nature  of  the  horizon  of  its  vision,  which 
made  it  think  what  it  saw  to  be  so  small  and  insignificant,  and 
its  not  understanding  that  the  cornice  of  the  pillar  could  no 
more  be  dispensed  with  than  the  dome  or  the  roof  of  the  cathe- 
dral, being  part  and  parcel  of  one  great  design,  and  in  harmony 
with  all  that  was  about  it.  Yv^e  are  just  like  that  fly  in  this 
respect,  perched  upon  some  little  pinnacle  in  some  little  nook  of 
this  little  vforld,  where  we  venture  to  pronounce  upon  the  whole 
from  our  very  limited  experience  of  a  part,  forgetting  that  our 
ignorance  should  make  us  humble,  and  our  knowledge  that  God 
reigns  should  make  us  trust  that  all  will  be  wisely,  beneficently^ 
and  graciously  arranged. 

I  have  thus  then  looked  at  some  of  the  objections  to  this 
truth.  Let  me  now  notice  some  positive  facts  tending  to  prove 
that  the  heavens  do  rule;  and  that  while  God  does  thus  rule, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  both  from  Scripture  and  experi- 
ence, that  his  rule  is  wise,  and  good,  and  merciful,  and  gracious. 

In  the  first  place,  God  is  infinitely  wise :  we  are  quite  certain, 
therefore,  that  what  he  does  must  be  the  result  of  infinite  wis- 
dom. Admit  the  fact  that  God  reigns  in  the  atom  as  well  as  in 
the  fixed  star — that  God  moves  with  the  current  of  the  tiny 
stream  as  much  as  he  rides  upon  the  whirlwind,  and  sails  upon 
the  waves  of  the  desert  sea :  admit  that  God  is  in  all  the  wind- 
ings of  individual  private  life,  as  well  as  the  cataracts  and  floods 
and  storms  of  public  and  of  social  life — and  then  recollect,  that 
the  God  who  thus  controls  all,  is  infinitely  wise,  and  you  may  be 
satisfied  that  there  is  no  risk  of  a  blunder,  there  is  no  possibility 
of  a  mistake,  there  is  nothing  done  by  God  that  will  need  to  be 
undone,  that,  in  short,  there  is  no  dispensation,  from  Adam  to 

14* 


162  rROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

the  present  hour,  that  is  not  associated  with  and"  superintended 
by  a  wisdom  that  cannot  err. 

Kecollect,  in  the  next  place,  that  God  is  infinitely  good.  That 
goodness  is  dimly  shadowed  forth  in  nature;  it  is  clearly  expressed 
in  the  gospel — "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only- 
hegotten  Son.^^  The  gift  of  Christ  is  the  measure  of  God^s  good- 
ness. Let  us  pause  at  that  text :  it  is  not  said,  '^  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  permitted  his  Son  to  come  and  die  for  the 
world :"  that  would  have  been  great  love;  but  "God  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  his  Son.^^  Christ  is  the  donative  of  God,  the 
expression  and  the  measure  of  God's  infinite  love ;  the  truth  is, 
not  that  "  God  loves  us  because  Christ  died  for  us ;"  but  it  is 
''  that  God  so  loved  us  tliat  Christ  died  for  us  :"  Christ  is  not  the 
cause  of  God's  love  to  us,  but  he  is  the  cxjyression  of  God's  love 
to  us.  And  this  is  a  beautiful  thought,  which  seems  to  me  so 
precious,  that  the  death  of  my  Saviour  is  not  only  a  channel 
through  which  God's  love  can  reach  me  consistently  with  his  jus- 
tice, but  it  is  also  evidence  to  me  that  God  loved  me  from  ever- 
lasting, and  will  love  me  to  the  end ;  and  it  is  the  proof  to  me 
that  when  I  am  admitted  into  heaven,  I  shall  not  be  admitted  there 
simply  as  the  convict  who  has  been  pardoned,  and  to  be  treated 
and  tolerated  in  heaven  as  such,  but  it  is  the  evidence  to  me  that 
I  shall  be  welcomed  into  heaven  as  the  reconciled  and  accepted  son, 
amid  the  hosannas  and  acclamations  of  angels  and  of  archangels, 
and  that  I  shall  be  there  as  a  son  in  the  presence  of  a  father,  not 
as  a  forgiven  criminal  in  the  presence  of  a  judge  who  barely  tole- 
rates him  there.  "  God  so  loved  us  that  he  gave  his  Son."  If 
this  be  so,  then,  not  only  is  there  infinite  wisdom,  but  there  is  in- 
finite love;  and  therefore  the  nature  of  God's  government  in  the 
world  is  not  only  so  wise  as  to  prevent  all  possibility  of  mistake 
or  error,  but  it  is  so  good  that  it  precludes  the  interposition  of 
ill-will,  revenge,  or  enmity,  of  any  sort  or  of  any  degree. 

In  the  next  place,  God,  who  governs  the  world,  is  "  omnipo- 
tent." We  may  therefore  be  sure,  that  whatever  his  wisdom  de- 
vises, or  his  love  ins|)ires,  his  power  will  execute.  We  are  sure, 
therefore,  that  what  the  Psalmist  says,  when  he  thus  describes  the 
power  of  God,  is  borne  out  by  history  :  "  0  Lord  of  hosts,  who  is 


THE   SCEPTRE   OF    GOD.  1G3 

a  strong  Lord  like  unto  thee,  or  to  tby  faithfulness  round  about 
thee  ?  Thou  rulest  the  raging  of  the  sea ;  when  the  waves  thereof 
arise,  thou  stillest  them.  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation 
of  thy  throne  :  mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  thy  face.''  He 
is,  in  the  language  of  the  apostle,  "  able  to  keep  us  from  falling, 
and  to  present  us  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with 
exceeding  joy." 

And,  in  the  last  place,  the  God  who  rules  the  world  in  wisdom 
and  in  love,  and  with  omnipotent  power,  is  described  to  be  an  un- 
changeable Grod.  If  Grod  were  a  changeable  being,  we  could 
have  no  confidence  in  his  government  at  all;  if  God  were  a 
changeable  God,  who  would  retract  to-day  what  he  said  yesterday, 
the  Bible  would  be  the  most  worthless  of  all  the  books  upon  earth, 
because  how  could  I  know  that  he  would  adhere  to  the  promises 
he  has  made,  or  how  could  I  know  that  the  truth  he  had  stated 
he  will  not  reverse  ?  And  therefore  the  immutability  of  God  is 
the  crowning  point ;  for  his  wisdom,  his  love,  his  power,  his  faith- 
fulness, his  truth,  are  fixed  as  the  heavens,  and  immutable  for 
ever.  And  so  it  is  in  creation.  The  very  facts  that  men  quote 
as  the  evidences  that  God  does  not  reign,  are  just  the  very  facts 
that  I  would  quote  as  the  evidence  that  God  does  reign.  For  in- 
stance, the  fact  is  that  water  shall  run  down  hill :  men  say,  that 
is  the  law  of  water,  and  therefore  it  can  do  so  without  God.  It 
is  the  fact,  for  instance,  that  fire  burns ;  and  they  say  that  is  the 
combination  of  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  with  carbon, 
whereby  flame  is  produced;  that  is  the  law,  and  therefore  we 
need  not  admit  a  God  to  explain  the  phenomenon.  The  conti- 
nuity of  the  fact  may  give  it  the  name  of  a  law,  but  it  does  not 
the  less  prove  it  is  the  action  of  Deity.  If  these  things  were  not 
always  so,  we  could  have  no  confidence  in  creation.  What  man 
would  build  a  ship  to  carry  his  goods  to  the  -  ends  of  the  world 
across  the  desert  sea,  if  that  sea  were  accidentally  sometimes  liquid 
and  sometimes  solid?  What  man  could  have  any  confidence 
in  the  safety  of  his  house,  or  in  the  security  of  his  person,  if  the 
fire  sometimes  burned  and  sometimes  did  not,  or  sometimes  spread 
its  flames  a  hundred  feet,  and  sometimes  only  a  few  inches  ?  Tlic 
very  fixity  of  the  laws  of  nature  is  evidence  not  of  God's  retreat 
from  his  world,  but  of  the  immutability  of  the  God  that  made 


164  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

them,  and  one  of  the  grounds  of  my  confidence  in  his  govern- 
ment, and  of  my  firm  conviction  that  the  heavens  do  rule — pre- 
cious in  this  world,  and  infinitely  comforting  in  the  prospect  of 
that  which  is  to  come. 

God  reigns;  and  the  evidence  of  it  is  this,  that  he  is  showing 
year  after  year  and  age  after  age,  that  all  the  wiles  of  Satan,  and 
all  the  power  of  men,  cannot  permanently  build  up  a  falsehood, 
and  that  all  the  combinations  of  them  both  together  cannot  uproot 
the  truth  that  he  has  given  to  us.  Is  there  no  evidence  of  the 
present  action  and  government  of  God  in  this  fact,  that  every 
false  religion  is  proved  by  history  to  be  a  blunder,  and  that  every 
atom  of  divine  truth  is  proved  by  experience  to  be  immortal  and 
permanent.  Is  it  not  evidence  that  the  heavens  do  rule,  when  we 
see  all  men,  of  all  pursuits,  in  all  acts,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, consciously  or  unconsciously,  designedly  or  undesignedly, 
contributing  to  the  spread  and  adding  to  the  splendour  of  the 
claims  and  glory  of  the  Christian  faith  ?  Is  it  no  evidence  that 
the  heavens  do  rule,  when  we  see  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible 
dug  from  the  lava  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  excavated  from 
the  grave  of  Nineveh  by  Layard,  brought  forth  by  Young  and 
Champollion  from  the  mummies  hidden  thousands  of  years  in  the 
pyramids  ?  Is  there  not  evidence  that  there  is  a  God  watching 
over  that  blessed  book  called  the  Bible,  and  guarding  that  divine 
treasure  called  the  gospel,  in  the  fact  that  he  is  bringing  forth 
elucidations  of  its  truth  and  proofs  of  its  authority,  from  the 
grave  of  Nineveh — the  pyramids  of  the  Pharaohs — the  crash  of 
cities — the  wreck  of  nations — till  at  last  the  most  skeptic  minds 
are  constrained  to  own  that  the  religion  of  the  despised  Nazarene 
is  the  religion  of  the  great  God,  and  to  predict  that  it  will  last, 
and  flourish,  and  reign  for  ever  and  ever  ?  Is  it  no  evidence 
that  God  reigns,  or  that  the  heavens  do  rule,  when  we  see  all 
things  working  together  for  good  to  the  people  of  God;  and  their 
light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  issuing  in  their  eternal 
glory ;  and  all  the  facts  of  history,  and  all  the  phenomena  of 
science,  and  all  the  phases  of  national  experience,  helping,  and  in 
no  respect  retarding  or  obstructing  the  cause  of  Christ  ?  Is  it  not 
an  evidence  that  God  reigns,  when  we  see  the  church  and  the 
university  flourish  together — religion   and   science,  like  sisters, 


THE   SCEPTRE   OF   COD.  105 

walk  arm-in-arm,  the  one  casting  its  glory  upon  the  other,  and 
both  arrayed  in  priestly  robes,  witnessing  to  Him  who  gave  them 
their  commission,  and  ministering  to  the  wants  and  necessities  of 
mankind  ?  And  is  not  all  this  tending  to  accelerate  the  advent 
of  that  blessed  day  when  science  shall  come  forth  from  her  cells, 
and  students  from  their  colleges,  and  philosophers  from  their  stu- 
dies, and  historians  from  their  labours,  and  all  men  from  all  places 
in  the  world,  and  all  things  in  their  maturity  and  ripeness,  to 
combine  with  one  heart,  and  with  one  mind,  and  with  one  mouth, 
in  saying,  "  The  heavens  do  rule,"  and  "  Jesus  is  the  Lamb  of 
Grod  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  V 


166 


LECTURE  XII. 

belshazzar's  feast. 

Daniel  v. 

Being  unable  to  select  a  verse  on  wliicli  to  construct  an  epi- 
tome of  this  sublime  and  interesting  chapter,  I  have  taken  as  the 
subject  of  comment  the  whole  chapter.  The  main  facts  in  it,  as 
far  as  these  relate  to  Nebuchadnezzar  the  grandfather,  and  Bel- 
shazzar  the  king  his  grandson,  we  have  considered  in  the  succes- 
sive expositions  of  various  passages  in  the  preceeding  chapters : 
we  have  now  the  account  of  Belshazzar's  reign,  his  sensual  life, 
the  departure  of  his  kingdom,  his  own  slaughter  in  the  midst  of 
his  revels,  the  victorious  army  of  the  Medes  in  the  midst  of  Ba- 
bylon, and  the  first  or  the  golden  empire  passed  over  to  the  second 
or  the  silver  one. 

There  was  no  sin  in  the  feast  over  which  Belshazzar  presided. 
I  mean,  it  was  not  necessarily  sinful.  It  was  an  annual  festival, 
commemorative  of  a  great  event.  The  sin  was  not  in  the  eating, 
or  in  the  drinking,  if  both  were  in  moderation,  but  in  the  spirit 
which  actuated  the  eaters  and  the  drinkers,  and  the  excess  to 
which  they  went  in  both,  and  the  defiance  they  showed  toward 
God. 

It  was  during  this  festival  that  Babylon  was  taken.  The  Mede 
knew  beforehand  its  date,  its  nature,  and  its  accomplishments, 
marched  his  troops  into  the  midst  of  Babylon,  took  possession  of 
its  palaces,  its  halls,  and  all  its  glory,  and  instituted  that  second 
empire,  the  history  of  which  we  have  briefly  sketched  in  a  pre- 
vious discourse.  It  is  well  known  that  the  siege  of  Babylon  had 
already  lasted  two  years  and  a  half;  all  the  besieger's  stratagems 
had  failed,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  retiring  from  Babylon  as 
a  city  impregnable,  and  fitted  by  its  great  strength  to  defy  all 
human  aggressive  power ;  but  on  this  night,  one  day's  bacehana- 


BELSIIAZZAR'S    FEAST.  167 

lian  excess  did  for  Babylon  what  all  the  siege  and  stratagems  of 
two  years  under  the  Mede  had  been  utterly  unable  to  accomplish. 
And  it  seems  from  this,  as  from  kindred  instances  in  the  history 
of  nations,  that  when  God  has  pronounced  the  hour  of  a  nation's 
doom,  the  inhabitants  of  that  nation  seem  to  lose  the  caution,  the 
skill,  the  energy  they  had  exhibited  before,  and  precipitate  the 
very  result  they  themselves  are  anxious  to  avert.  Nations  rarely 
fall  before  a  foreign  aggressor ;  their  ruin  or  their  glory  is,  under 
God,  within  themselves.  Nations  die  suicides ;  they  are  seldom 
or  never  destroyed  by  any  force  from  without.  Let  a  nation  be 
true  to  God,  loyal  to  its  laws — let  purity  and  piety  and  true  reli- 
gion irradiate  its  palaces,  and  cast  their  softening  influence  over 
all  its  lanes,  its  alleys,  and  its  hovels,  and  that  nation  has  within 
it  the  grounds,  as  it  has  over  it  the  promises,  of  immortality. 
But  let  a  nation  be  corrupt  in  its  lower  classes,  profligate  and  sen- 
sual in  its  higher  classes — let  there  be  education  without  religion 
— let  there  be  profession  without  principle — ^let  there  be  a  name 
and  a  form  without  the  substance,  and  it  needs  no  prophet  to 
predict  that  nation's  doom,  and  no  long  or  deep  calculation  to 
count  the  years  that  are  sure  to  precede  it. 

The  great  sin  which  seemed  to  characterize  the  feast  celebrated 
on  this  occasion  was,  Belshazzar's  impious  mockery  in  taking  the 
sacred  vessels  which  his  father,  as  he  is  here  called,  or,  strictly, 
and  as  it  might  be  rendered,  his  grandfather,  had  carried  from 
Jerusalem  and  brought  into  the  midst  of  Babylon,  and  in  making 
use  of  those  vessels  for  the  loose  and  licentious  purposes  of  an 
impious  festival,  as  if  he  could  hurl  defiance  at  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham, and  despise  and  defy  the  power  of  him  by  whom  kings  reign 
and  princes  decree  justice.  There  was  in  this  act  needless  insult 
to  the  captive  Jews,  and  impious  blasphemy  against  the  God 
whom  they  worshipped.  If  the  vessels  were  taken  by  superior 
power,  and  in  just  judgment  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  it  became 
him  in  the  presence  of  that  people  to  lay  them  aside  and  shut 
them  up  from  their  reach,  but  not  to  insult  them  by  profaning 
them.  We  have  no  warrant  to  insult  the  humblest  rite  of  an- 
other's faith.  Let  it  be  Hindooism,  let  it  be  Mahommedanism, 
which  we  come  into  contact  with ;  convince,  convert,  enlighten, 
explain,  but  never  think  that  you  can  put  down  a  sentiment  that 


168  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

is  sacred,  by  mere  ridicule ;  or  that  you  can  exalt  a  dogma  that  is 
divine,  by  a  needless  reproaching  of  the  creed  and  rites  of  the 
victims  of  a  superstitious  faith.  No  misfortune  is  so  great  as  to 
have  become  the  worshipper  of  a  false  god ;  no  man  is  so  deeply 
to  be  pitied  as  he  that  has  lost  his  way  to  heaven :  to  insult  him 
is  inhuman ;  to  turn  his  rites  into  ridicule  is  unchristian ;  to  try 
to  enlighten,  convince,  and  bring  him  into  the  more  excellent  way, 
is  at  once  worthy  of  our  highest  efforts  and  our  greatest  sacrifices, 
most  likely  to  succeed  because  owned,  and  blessed,  and  recognised 
by  Him  without  whose  blessing  nothing  can  prosper,  nothing  is  wise, 
nothing  is  holy,  and  whose  blessing  nothing  sinful  ever  inherits. 

The  sin  then,  I  have  shown,  was  the  desecration  of  that  which 
was  holy,  or  the  application  to  profane  and  licentious  purposes 
of  the  vessels  that  were  outwardly  dedicated  to  the  God  of  Israel. 
[s  it  possible  that  we,  '^on  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are 
come,^'  can  in  any  respect  be  guilty  of  a  similar  offence  ?  It  is 
possible,  and  in  many  ways.  Where  religion  is  dragged  from  its 
lofty  and  controlling  sphere,  and  made  to  gild  the  claims  of  a 
party  or  to  enforce  the  peculiar  principles  and  power  of  a  sect,  it 
is  a  holy  thing  desecrated  to  an  unholy  purpose.  When  the  sacra- 
ment is  taken,  not  to  commemorate  the  death  of  Christ,  but  to 
obtain  a  passport  to  an  office  and  a  qualification  for  a  political  or 
civil  sphere,  we  see  a  sacred  vessel  desecrated  to  an  unholy  end. 
When  the  facts  and  the  expressions  of  the  Bible,  its  sublime,  its 
pure,  and  its  holy  truths,  are  used,  as  they  not  unfrecjuently  arc, 
to  point  a  pun,  add  edge  to  a  jest,  or  keenness  to  a  sarcasm,  to 
excite  a  laugh  or  to  provoke  a  sneer,  you  have  Grod's  vessels  de- 
secrated to  unhallowed  and  profane  ends.  Never  try  to  construct 
jests  from  the  Bible.  The  jest  that  is  based  upon  a  text  of 
Scripture  will  come  across  you  like  a  dark  horrid  spectre  when  the 
most  solemn  appeals  are  made  from  the  pulpit  and  the  most  holy 
lessons  are  being  read  from  the  Bible.  I  know  not  a  more  reck- 
less act,  or  a  more  offensive  sin,  than  that  of  taking  divine  truths 
and  making  puns  on  them,  or  using  them  as  douhle-entendres,  or 
for  other  purposes  of  a  like  nature.  Such  deeds  reflect  little 
credit  on  the  piety,  and  still  less,  let  me  add,  on  the  good  taste 
of  those  that  so  use  them. 

I  think  we  desecrate  holy  things  when  the  sublime  descriptions 


BELSF.AZZAR'S   FEAST.  100 

of  the  judgment  to  come  are  turned  into  a  mere  musical  festival. 
No  one  more  admires  sacred  music  than  I  do.  No  one  is  more 
deeply  impressed  and  thrilled  by  its  magnificent  and  glorious  con- 
ceptions. But,  when  the  awful  agonies  of  Calvary,  the  deep  and 
sorrowful  experience  of  the  suffering  Son  of  Man,  are  used  merely 
to  create  the  most  delightful  emotions,  or  the  semi-sensuous,  semi- 
spiritual  feelings  of  the  crowd  that  listen,  I  do  think  it  is  the 
nearest  approach  to  Belshazzar's  feast,  when  the  sacred  things  of 
God  are  made  to  subserve  to  the  sensuous  tastes  of  man.  I  do 
not  mean  that  there  is  to  be  no  patronage  of  good  music.  I  do 
not  say  that  an  oratorio  is  in  itself  inherently  and  inseparably 
sinful ;  but  I  do  say  the  music  should  be  used  to  impress  the  sen- 
timent, not  the  sentiment  to  make  the  music  only  the  more  grate- 
ful. We  are  not  to  use  God's  truth  to  improve  our  music,  but 
we  are  to  use  our  noblest  music  to  unfold  the  attributes  and  make 
more  vivid  and  glorious  the  grandeur  and  the  excellency  of  God's 
truth.  And  when  the  opposite  course  is  adopted,  and  man  takes 
holy  and  thrilling  truths,  the  agonies  of  the  cross,  the  triumphs 
of  Tabor,  the  prospects  of  glory,  the  apocalyptic  visions,  and 
uses  them  for  an  unthinking  crowd  to  shout  ExcoRE  !  and  de- 
mand a  repetition,  and  to  applaud  as  a  splendid  exhibition  or  a 
glorious  treat  that  they  have  listened  to ;  then  I  think  it  is  all 
but  a  repetition  of  Belshazzar's  festival.  I  should  like  to  hear 
those  noble  productions  of  Handel  as  acts  of  solemn  worship. 
And  when  I  do  hear  them  I  feel  for  myself  that  it  is  the  unfold- 
ing and  developing  of  the  deepest  and  holiest  emotions  of  my 
heart.  But  when  men  who  have  no  sympathy  with  God  or  with 
religion — no  love  to  the  Saviour  or  to  his  word,  but  merely  a 
strong  and  enthusiastic  sympathy  with  the  grand  and  touching  in 
musical  cfeations,  go  to  such  festivals  and  use  sacred  words  mere- 
ly to  help  them  to  feel  sublime  emotions  and  praise  the  musician 
while  pleased  themselves,  I  do  think  that  there  is  in  such  circum- 
stances a  profanation  of  that  which  is  holy,  and  a  desecration  of 
that  which  is  consecrated  to  God. 

There  seems  to  me  to  be  a  desecration  of  the  holy  vessels  when 
the  Sabbath  is  used  for  purposes  of  trade — when  transactions  of  a 
political  nature  are  carried  on  upon  it — when  the  assembly,  or 
the  cabinet,  or  the  congress,  or  the  parliament,  or  chambers,  or 

15 


■J  70  PKOPllETIC   STUDIES. 

whatever  these  legislative  bodies  may  be  called,  venture  to  meet 
on  it.  The  Sabbath  is  the  most  sacred  thing,  next  to  the  Bible, 
if  not  equal  to  the  Bible,  that  God  has  given  us.  The  desecra- 
tion of  a  holy  thing  to  a  profane  and  an  unholy  purpose  occurs 
when  the  place  appointed  for  the  worship  of  God — for  whether  it 
be  church  or  chapel,  whether  consecrated  by  a  form  or  opened  by 
a  prayer,  is  to  my  mind  of  no  great  moment,  for  it  is,  in  the  one 
case  or  in  the  other,  a  place  in  which  holy  hearts  are  to  beat, 
humble  spirits  are  to  bow,  reverential  prayer  and  praise  are  to  be 
uttered — is  employed  for  vestry  meetings,  for  political  disputes, 
for  noisy  and  tumultuous  assemblages,  for  shouting  applause  with 
the  tongue,  and  beating  applause  with  the  feet.  In  this  there 
seems  to  me  to  be  an  approximation  to  the  profanation  exempli- 
fied at  the  feast  of  Belshazzar,  where  sacred  things  were  dese- 
crated to  unholy  purposes.  Let  us  then  recollect,  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  be  guilty  of  Belshazzar' s  sin  in  other  than  in  Belshazzar' s 
circumstances.  Still  more  are  we  guilty  of  desecration  when  the 
heart  that  was  made  for  God  is  made  the  throne  of  Mammon — 
when  the  affections  that  were  destined  to  cluster  around  him  are 
made  to  cling  to  that  which  is  earthly — when  God  is  superseded 
by  the  world,  and  things  divine  by  things  that  are  human ;  then 
that  which  was  once  the  image  of  God,  and  is  meant  to  be  re- 
stored and  be  so  again,  is  desecrated  to  unhallowed  purposes,  God 
is  dishonoured,  and  we  are  thereby  ruined. 

But  I  pass  from  the  feast  itself  to  notice  the  circumstances  by 
which  it  was  specially  accompanied.  It  was  a  feast  plainly  of  no 
ordinary  splendour.  All  the  lustre  that  rank  and  beauty  and 
renown  could  shed  upon  it  was  there.  There  were  toasts,  I  doubt 
not,  of  enthusiastic  patriotism — there  were  songs  of  boundless 
loyalty — there  was  the  loud  defiance  of  every  foe  without,  and 
there  was  the  expressed  and  reiterated  security  against  all  dis- 
loyalty or  treachery  from  within.  But  it  was  just  when  the  feast 
had  reached  its  highest  splendour,  and  when  all  hearts  were 
bounding,  and  all  spirits  were  joyous,  that  a  thrill  of  terror  rush- 
ed through  every  soul — that  the  cup  fell  from  the  king's  hand — 
and,  in  the  language  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  ^^  his  countenance  was 
changed,  and  his  thoughts  troubled  him;  the  joints  of  his  loins 
were  loosed,  and  his  knees  smote  the  on«  against  the  other."    A 


BELSIIAZZAR'S   FEAST.  171 

mysterious  writing  appeared  upon  the  plaster :  no  eye  seemed  to 
guide  it,  no  visible  hand  seemed  to  inscribe  it,  and  mysterious 
lingers,  belonging  none  knew  to  whom,  recorded  with  the  speed 
and  with  the  vivid  impression  of  the  lightning,  the  unintelligible, 
but  to  this  ungodly  prince,  because  unintelligible,  the  awful  in- 
scription, '^Mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharsin/^  One  may  ask,  as  the 
king  and  his  lords  did  not  understand  it,  why  they  were  thus 
afraid  ?  To  a  man  who  lives  in  sin,  the  unknown  is  always  the 
terrible.  Why?  Because  we  always  interpret  the  events  that 
we  cannot  understand  in  the  light  of  our  own  consciences,  which 
we  cannot  but  feel.  The  man  that  is  at  peace  with  God  sees  all 
events  approaching  him  as  a  joyous  procession  of  friends  and 
benefactors,  and  helpers  to  immortality.  The  man  who  is  not  at 
peace  with  God,  but  who  lives  in  sin,  reads  all  events  in  the  light 
of  his  conscience,  and  amid  the  fore-thrown  terrors  of  a  judgment 
day  to  which  that  conscience  points.  Suspicion,  fear,  alarm,  are 
in  such  circumstances  always  the  first  feelings  of  the  guilty.  It 
is  when  unknown,  mysterious,  and  supernatural  things  occur,  that 
the  conscience  recollects  a  thousand  crimes,  accuses  of  many 
wrongs,  and  reasons  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment 
to  come.  What  an  instance  have  we  of  this  in  the  case  of  Adam 
and  Eve !  Before  they  sinned  they  loved  to  hear  the  footsteps 
of  their  approaching  Father,  as  sounds  that  were  far  more  mu- 
sical to  their  ears  than  songs  in  the  groves  of  Paradise.  But  the 
instant  that  they  sinned,  all  was  changed !  they  ran  from  God. 
Why  ?  God  merely  said,  "  Adam,  where  art  thou  V — the  words 
that  he  had  uttered  often  before  :  but  on  this  occasion,  the  instant 
they  heard  them,  Adam  and  Eve  ran  and  hid  themselves.  Why 
this  charxge  ?  Because  before  the  fall  their  innocent  hearts  had 
construed  the  footsteps  of  God  as  footsteps  significant  of  nearing 
beneficence  and  love;  but  after  they  had  sinned,  their  unholy 
hearts  construed  God's  footsteps  in  the  light  of  their  sins,  and 
they  felt  or  feared,  because  they  were  guilty,  that  it  was  an  aven- 
ger coming  to  destroy  them.  In  the  case  of  Felix,  we  arc  told 
that  when  Paul  reasoned  before  him  he  trembled.  Take  the  case 
of  Herod:  when  he  heard  of  the  progress  of  Jesus  he  was  alarmed. 
What  had  Herod  done  ?  He  had  beheaded  John  the  Baptist,  a 
preacher  whom  Herod  for  a  time  ^^  heard  gladly ;''  who  was  to 


172  TROPIIETIC   STUDIES. 

Herod  and  to  Herod's  court  tlic  most  popular  preacher  that  ever 
ascended  a  pulpit,  until  he  touched  on  a  sin  that  Herod  loved,  and 
pointed  out  the  offence  that  necessitated  either  Herod's  reforma- 
tion or  his  fall.  He  took  the  alternative  suggested  to  him  by  the 
infamous  courtiers  that  were  about  him,  and  murdered  the  preacher 
in  order  that  he  might  silence  the  preacher's  testimony.  Hence, 
when  news  were  brought  to  Herod  that  Jesus  was  come,  and  that 
great  miracles  were  wrought  by  him,  Herod  said,  "  This  is  John 
the  Baptist,  that  is  risen  from  the  dead.''^  See  here  the  force  of 
Herod's  conscience  :  he  was  a  Sadducee,  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  ;  yet  so  strong  was  his  conscience, 
that  it  overpowered  his  convictions,  and  suggested  to  him  that 
John  was  indeed  risen  from  the  dead,  from  which  he  once  thought 
that  no  one  could  arise,  and  had  come  to  punish  him  for  the  crimes  of 
which  he  had  been  guilty.  Take  the  case  of  any  of  those  men- 
tioned in  the  word  of  Grod  in  similar  circumstances,  and  you  will 
call  to  mind  what  the  poet  has  expressed  in  different  words : — 

"  Thus  conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all." 

But  Belshazzar,  who  was  so  awed  by  this  vision,  was  one  who 
had  had  great  opportunities  of  knowing  and  of  doing  the  will  of 
Grod.  He  had  seen  his  grandfather  banished  from  the  society  of 
men,  and  made  the  companion  of  the  herds  of  the  field ;  and  the 
fact  which  ought  to  have  been  a  lesson  to  him,  he  disregarded  as 
if  it  had  never  occurred,  and  indulged  in  the  sins  and  committed 
the  crimes  which  had  brought  down  such  signal  judgments  upon 
Nebuchadnezzar.  What  he  was  condemned  for  by  Daniel  was 
not  that  he  himself  was  wrong,  but  that  he  had  not  availed  him- 
self of  the  opportunities  he  had  of  being  right.  Our  condemna- 
tion at  the  judgment-day  will  not  be  that  conscientiously  we  have 
believed  a  lie ;  but  it  will  be,  that  we  neglected  the  opportunities 
of  acquiring  and  making  ourselves  acquainted  with  the  truth.  I 
do  not  believe  that  the  deist  v/ill  be  condemned  for  his  deism, 
but  for  his  neglect  of  the  means  of  making  himself  a  Christian. 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  creed  we  have  come  to  most  conscien- 
tiously, as  many  a  skeptic  does,  will  be  the  great  damning  fact  at 
the  judgment-day,  but  that  we  devoted  more  time  to  the  exami- 
nation of  a  pebble,  more  attention  to  the  study  of  a  butterfly, 


BELllAZZAR-S   FEAST.  173 

more  of  genius  to  the  euricliing  of  ourselves  and  the  filling  of  our 
coffers,  than  we  ever  spared  for  the  solution  of  this  great  question, 
What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  or  for  solemn  preparation  for  death 
and  judgment  and  eternity,  which  the  Bible  suggests  and  implies 
in  every  page.  It  may  be  that  the  very  Sabbath  which  you  re- 
solved to  spend  in  dissipation  at  home,  might  have  been  that  on 
which  you  would  have  heard  the  truth  which  would  have  turned 
you  from  darkness  unto  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God.  It  may  be,  that  the  very  sermon  which  you  neglected  or 
excused  yourself  for  neglecting  by  a  headache  which  would  never 
have  kept  you  from  the  Exchange,  or  from  the  appointed  hour 
and  place  of  business,  might  have  been  the  very  sermon  which, 
under  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  would  have  proved  to 
you  a  savour  of  life  unto  life.  Never  lose  an  opportunity  of  hear- 
ing the  truth  if  you  can  possibly  avoid  it.  There  are  proper  ex- 
cuses, beyond  all  dispute,  but  they  ought  to  be  grave,  weighty, 
and  worthy  of  the  subject,  to  justify  you  in  once  omitting  to  lis- 
ten to  that  glorious  gospel,  in  the  preaching  of  which  some  single 
word  dropped  in  season  may  be  to  you  the  turning  point  of  your 
everlasting  acceptance  before  God'. 

When  the  king  saw  this  mysterious  hand-writing,  he  sent  for  the 
astrologers,  and  asked  them  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  wall.  It  has  been  a  puzzling  question  to  commenta- 
tors why  the  wise  men  were  unable  to  translate  it.  The  words  are 
plain,  translatable  Chaldee;  and  a  Chaldean  scholar  of  the  present 
day,  if  called  upon  to  read  them  when  inscribed  upon  any  thing, 
would  be  able  instantly  to  do  so.  There  have  been  two  or  three 
reasons  assigned  for  this  inability  on  the  part  of  the  wise  men. 
One  is,  that  they  were  written  in  the  ancient  Hebrew  characters, 
the  knowledge  of  which  they  had  lost,  and  not  in  the  modern 
Hebrew  character,  which  differs  little  or  nothing  from  the  Chal- 
dean. The  character  in  which  the  Old  Testament  is  commonly 
written  is  not  the  ancient  Hebrew  character,  and  the  square 
form  of  the  letters  now  used  is  not  the  primitive  form.  It  has 
therefore  been  supposed  that  the  inscription  was  in  their  ancient 
characters,  and  that  therefore  the  Chaldeans  were  unable  to  read 
it.  The  difference  between  the  two  forms  may  be  as  great  as 
between  our  English  letters  and  the  German,  or  perhaps  between 


174  rrvOriiETic  studies. 

the  modern  Englisli  letters  and  the  ancient  Saxon  or  old  English 
character.  Others  think  that  the  words  were  inscribed  in  some 
dark,  mysterious  hieroglyphic,  to  the  signification  of  which  there 
was  no  key  in  the  possession  of  the  astrologers.  Others,  that  it 
was  the  divine  truth  written  by  a  divine  hand,  and  that,  like 
the  Bible  itself,  it  was  intelligible  only  in  the  light  in  which  it 
was  written — that  it  was  unmeaning  and  unintelligible  to  the 
astrologers,  and  luminous  only  to  him  whom  the  Spirit  of  God 
had  taught.  These  are  the  reasons  Which  have  been  assigned, 
and  any  and  all  of  them  are  sufficient  to  explain  why  the  Chal- 
dean astrologers  were  unable  to  interpret  the  writing.  Yv'hen 
they  failed  to  do  so,  all  was  blank  terror  and  alarm  in  the  minds 
of  the  king  and  his  courtiers;  but  in  the  crisis,  when  all  seemed 
to  be  agitated  and  to  have  lost  their  self-possession,  one  woman 
aj^peared  nobler  than  them  all,  and  spoke  with  a  calmness,  a 
self-possession,  and  a  dignity  which  kindled  hope  where  all 
before  was  utter  despair.  This  woman — here  called  the  queen 
— was  not  the  wife  of  Belshazzar,  but  the  wife  of  his  grand- 
fother,  Nebuchadnezzar;  and  therefore  I  venture  to  call  her  the 
queen-dowager.  She  instantly  stepped  in,  and  suggested  the 
person  who  could  solve  the  difficulty;  and,  in  so  doing,  she  pre- 
sented a  striking  contrast  to  the  conduct,  feelings,  and  condition 
of  those  that  were  around  her.  It  is  almost  invariably  the  fact, 
that  woman,  who  is  easily  agitated  by  trifles,  when  some  great 
crisis  overtakes  her  v/hich  calls  forth  all  the  latent  energies  of 
her  soul,  is  found  to  display  a  calmness,  a  magnanimity,  a  self- 
possession  that  makes  the  magnanimity  of  the  other  sex  sink 
into  insignificance  beside  it!  A  woman  is  made  for  a  great 
crisis;  and  it  is  in  such  that  she  shines  like  an  angel,  and  in- 
dicates power  which  man  does  not  give  her  credit  for;  and  in 
this  case,  where  those  powers  were  illuminated,  inspired,  and 
sanctified  by  piety,  she  presented  a  contrast  the  most  complete  to 
all  who  were  present  at  that  dissipated  festival,  smitten  as  they 
were  with  fear,  shuddering  with  alarm,  and  looking  for  the  hea- 
vens to  rend,  and  the  thunderbolts  of  God  to  overwhelm  them. 
And  is  not  the  whole  history  of  Christianity  a  comment  on  v/liat 
I  have  said?  Who  was  last  at  the  cross?  Woman.  Who  was 
first  at  the  tomb  on  the  resurrection  morn?     Woman.     Amid 


BELSHAZZAll'S    FEA^T.  175 

all  tlie  voices  of  scorn,  insult,  and  reproach  that  were  lifted  up 
against  the  blessed  Jesus  on  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  there  is 
not  one  record  of  the  voice  of  a  woman  being  heard  offering 
insult  or  using  the  language  of  scorn  or  reproach.  If  she  was 
first  in  the  transgression,  she  was  first  in  the  scenes  of  the  re- 
covery and  the  resurrection  also.  It  is  time  that  man  should 
not  mention  the  first,  but  rejoice  in  her  altered  aspect  and  bear- 
ing in  the  last.  And  who  does  not  know  that  the  vigils  of  the 
dead,  the  beds  of  the  sick,  and  the  chambers  of  the  dying,  have 
never  been  without  her  presence?  And  who  does  not  know  tliat 
just  where  woman  is  placed  in  her  proper  position,  there  society 
culminates  in  its  loYtiest  grandeur?  teaching  us  that  the  ordi- 
nance of  God  is  not  that  woman  should  be,  as  she  is  made  in 
some  countries,  the  slave  and  the  serf  of  man,  but  the  orna- 
ment, the  companion,  the  friend,  and  in  some  respects  the  in- 
structor of  man. 

The  queen,  thus  exhibiting  such  magnanimity,  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  the  scene,  and  suggested  Daniel  as  the  solver  of 
doubts,  the  explainer  of  perplexities,  gifted  by  God  with  miracu- 
lous and  inspired  understanding.  There  is  just  one  fact  which 
I  will  now  dwell  upon,  reserving  for  another  lecture  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  wall,  and  that  is,  that  it  is  stated  by  the  queen  that 
Daniel  was  the  head  of  the  astrologers  and  the  wise  men  and  the 
magicians  of  the  kingdom,  ^^whom  thy  father  made  master  of 
the  astrologers,  the  wise  men,  the  magicians,  and  the  soothsay- 
ers." This  has  been  objected  to,  because  it  is  expressly  stated 
in  Deuteronomy  that  the  children  of  Israel  were  to  have  no  sym- 
pathy or  communion  with  diviners  and  soothsayers;  for  instance, 
''There  shall  not  be  found  among  you  any  one  that  maketh  his 
son  or  his  daughter  to  pass  through  the  fire,  or  that  useth  divina- 
tion, or  an  observer  of  the  times,  or  an  enchanter,  or  a  witch,  or 
a  charmer,  or  a  consulter  with  familiar  spirits,  or  a  wizard,  or  a 
necromancer."  (Deut.  xviii.  10.) 

It  has  been  asked,  why  did  Daniel  consent,  according  to  the 
statement  of  the  queen,  to  be  the  chief  or  the  head  of  the  as- 
trologers, soothsayers,  and  magicians  of  the  king  of  Babylon? 
The  answer  is,  that  our  apprehension,  /.  r.  the  popular  apprehen- 
sion of  the  character  of  these  astrologers  is  a  very  erroneous  one. 


176  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

They  were  not  enchanters  who  held  communion  with  evil  spi- 
rits; they  were  not  diviners.  They  were  men  who  studied  the 
signs  and  phenomena  of  astronomy,  and,  having  no  written  reve- 
lations, they  believed  that  God  had  written  the  present,  the  past, 
and  also  some  presentiments  of  the  future,  in  the  sky;  that  the 
stars  were  the  letters  of  that  revelation;  and  that  by  studying 
them  they  might  interpret  events — present,  past,  and  to  come. 
If  they  had  been  soothsayers  or  diviners  in  the  same  sense  as 
those  to  whom  Moses  alludes,  for  Daniel  to  have  allowed  himself 
to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  them  would  have  been  the  sacrifice 
of  his  principles  and  the  surrender  of  his  faith.  This  he  did 
not,  and  would  not  do.  They  were  magi,  not  magicians.  They 
were  philosophers,  not  sorcerers.  They  held  communion  with 
Grod's  outward  world,  not  with  evil  spirits,  as  the  sorcerers  and 
diviners  of  old.  When  Daniel,  therefore,  consented  to  become 
their  head,  he  became  the  patron  of  science,  the  principal  of  a 
university,  the  president  of  a  royal  society,  and  in  no  respect  did 
he  sympathize,  by  thus  consenting,  with  sorcerers,  magicians,  or 
men  that  held  communion  with  evil  spirits.  And  no  doubt 
more  science  than  we  generally  give  them  credit  for  was  known 
to  these  men.  I  doubt  not  that  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the 
stars  of  the  sky,  the  flowers  of  the  earth,  all  bright  things  above, 
and  all  beautiful  things  below,  was  more  frequently  the  posses- 
sion of  these  ancient  philosophers,  than  modern  ones,  with  their 
loftier  discernment,  are  disposed  generally  to  admit.  Thus  we 
may  see  that  if  we  had  no  written  book  reflecting  God's  mind, 
the  next  book,  though  far  inferior  to  it,  is  God's  book  of  Na- 
ture :  we  can  see  his  smiles  in  the  sunbeams,  his  mercy  in  Provi- 
dence, his  glory  in  the  expanse  that  it  above  us — his  foot- 
print in  the  depths  that  are  beneath  us;  and  blind,  blind  indeed 
must  that  man  be,  who  does  not  see  that  God  is  in  the  height, 
and  in  the  depth,  having  a  centre  that  is  everywhere,  and  a  cir- 
cumference that  is  nowhere.  These  astrologers  were  not  to  be 
blamed  if,  without  a  Bible  such  as  we  have,  they  took  the  next 
Bible,  the  book  of  the  outer  world,  and  there  sought  to  under- 
stand the  mind,  the  purposes,  and  the  will  of  God. 

Daniel  then,  as  the  president  of  this  royal  society — a  student 
of  science — the  principal  of  this  learned  university — is  introduced 


BELSIIAZZAR'S    FEAST.  177 

into  tlie  feast  amid  its  fading  splendour,  its  departing  joys,  its 
miserable,  degraded  and  degrading  remains;  and  the  king  speaks 
to  him  as  recoo-nising  him  only  by  name,  but  not  knowing  him  m 
person      Daniel  was  banished  from  that  court :  he  was  too  honest 
spoken  a  prophet  to  be  very  popular  there.     The  king  therefore 
tells  him,  "I  have  heard  that  thou  canst  make  interpretation,  and 
dissolve  doubts-that  the  spirit  of  the  gods  is  in  thee,  and  that 
lioht  and  understanding  and  excellent  wisdom  is  found  m  thee 
Daniel,  without  being  discomposed  by  the  cold  reception  of  the 
monarch,  and  without  being  the  least   awed  by  the  dangers  he 
would  have  incurred  through  faithlessness,  or  in  the  least  seduced 
by  the  honours  and  emoluments  which  would  have  fallen  to  his 
lot  had  he  prophesied  smooth  things,  addresses  the  monarch,  see- 
ino-  him  disrobed  of  all  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  a  throne,  and 
only  trembling  like  a  guilty  criminal  in  the  presence  of  a  holy 
and  a  heart-searching  God.     Daniel  reminds  him  of  his  sins- 
tells  him  of  his  crimes— shows  him  how  lessons  he  might  have 
learned  he  had  lost— how  events  that  were  significant  he  had  neg- 
lected—how the  history  of  his  grandfather  he  had  read  back- 
ward—how he  had  incurred  all  the  responsibilities  of  knowmg 
the  truth,  and  lost  the  benefit  of  all  its  precious  and  practical 
lessons  j  and  then  informs  him  that,  because  of   these  things, 
the  kino-dom  had  passed  from  him,  and,  in  the  high  purposes  of 
him  who  setteth  up  one  and  pulleth  down  others,  had  been  given 

to  another. 

Lessons  that  are  neglected  become  awful  judgments,  ihe  ser- 
mons which  you  hear,  which  are  fitted  to  instruct,  but  from  which 
you  draw  no  practical  instruction  whatever,  shall  reverberate  m 
crashes  of  thunder  at  the  judgment-day ;  and  you  will  learn, 
when  it  is  too  late,  that  it  would  have  been  more  tolerable  if  you 
had  never  appeared  within  the  walls  of  the  sanctuary,  or  read  the 
sacred  page,  or  listened  to  a  preached  gospel,  than  to  have  done 
all  and  despised  all,  and  perished  amid  the  ofi-ers  of  love,  the 
sounds  of  reconciliation,  and  the  hopes  of  glory. 

Turn  to  practical  account  every  lesson  that  you  hear:  when  the 
preacher  has  done,  your  duties  only  commence.  What  I  speak  is 
to  instruct  you,  and  that  instruction  is  meant  to  save  you.  Go 
forth,  and  show  on  the  Royal  Exchange— in  the  cabinet,  in  the 


178  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

congress,  in  the  parliament — show  in  all  places  that  are  high  and 
in  all  that  are  lowly — in  the  high-roads  of  public  life,  and  in  the 
by-paths  and  isolated  lanes  of  private  life — show  in  every  rela- 
tionship and  position  in  society,  that  Christianity  has  made  you 
holier,  happier,  nobler  than  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  that  it  is 
not  in  vain  that  you  have  heard  that  a  God  has  suffered  that 
mankind  might  be  redeemed. 


179 


LECTURE  XIIL 


WEIGHED    AND    FOUND    WANTING. 

*•  Then  was  the  part  of  the  hand  sent  from  him ;  and  this  writing  was  writ- 
ten. And  this  is  the  writing  that  was  written,  Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin." — 
Daniel  \.  24,25. 

I  NOTICED,  in  my  previous  addresses,  the  circumstances  that 
preceded  the  interpretation  of  this  mysterious  inscription  on  the 
plaster  of  the  royal  palace :  I  now  beg  your  attention  to  the  sig- 
nificance of  each  word  of  that  inscription,  but  especially  to 
one  which  seems  most  capable  of  affording  improvement  to  us, 
namely,  "  tekel.''  The  word  ^^  mene"  is  twice  repeated,  simply 
to  give  emphasis  to  the  word:  '^mene,  mene;"  literally,  "there 
is  number,^^  "thy  kingdom  is  numbered,"  or,  "God  hath  num- 
bered thy  kingdom  and  finished  it.''  It  is  repeated  merely  to 
give  emphasis,  just  as  the  words  are  repeated,  "thou  shalt  surely 
die;''  literally,  "dying,  thou  shalt  die."  "Tekel,"  again,  means 
simply,  "he  hath  weighed;"  it  is  applied  to  the  act  of  a  gold- 
smith, who  weighs  the  gold,  and  ascertains  the  amount  of  alloy, 
that  he  may  separate  it  from  the  pure  metal.  The  word  "uphar- 
sin" is  the  plural  number  of  the  same  word  which  is  repeated 
in  the  28th  verse,  "peres;"  and,  though  it  reads  so  differently 
to  us,  it  is  really  one  word,  differing  only  in  number,  and  the 
meaning  of  it  is,  simply  and  literally,  "is  divided;"  and  Daniel 
the  prophet  adds,  in  the  prophetic  spirit,  the  words  or  the  com- 
mentary, "and  is  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians."  The  word 
"upharsin,"  or  "peres,"  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  word  "Per- 
sians," or  the  word  "Mede;"  this  last  is  the  explanation  given 
by  the  prophet;  and  the  inscription,  literally  translated,  would 
be   "numbered,  weighed,  (and,  probably,  found  wanting,)  and 


180  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

divided;"  and  Daniel  tlius  explains  tlie  mysterious  enigma^  by 
saying,  '^  thy  kingdom  is  numbered/'  or  the  years  of  its  exist- 
ence are  now  completed;  ''thyself  art  weighed  in  the  scales  of 
the  sanctuary,  and  found  wanting;  and  your  kingdom  now  is 
about  to  be  divided  among  the  Modes  and  Persians,  your  bit- 
terest enemies."     Such  is  the  meaning  of  the  words. 

God  is  represented  as  weighing  all  men;  all  their  motives, 
their  ends,  their  characters.  It  is  a  common  scriptural  expres- 
sion, which  indicates  that  it  is  meant  by  God  that  we  should  feel 
and  realize  this  fact.  For  instance,  Hannah  said,  "The  Lord  is 
a  God  of  knowledge,  and  by  him  actions  are  weighed."  Da- 
vid says,  "Men  of  low  degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high 
degree  are  a  lie;  to  be  laid  in  the  balance  they  are  altogether 
wanting."  Again,  Isaiah  says,  "Thou  most  upright  dost  iceigh 
the  path  of  the  just;"  and  Solomon  writes,  "All  the  ways  of  a 
man  are  clean  in  his  own  eyes;  but  the  Lord  weigheth  the  spi- 
rit." From  these  passages  we  learn  that  the  idea  contained  in 
this  inscription  is  one  frequently  found  in  Scripture,  as  appli- 
cable to  all.  It  suggests  to  us  many  precious  and  important 
lessons. 

Let  us  realize  this  one  fact,  that  there  is  not  a  motive  in  one 
single  heart  in  this  assembly  that  the  eye  of  God  does  not  now 
see  as  clearly  as  if  that  motive  were  the  only  thing  in  the  whole 
universe,  and  that  God  does  not  weigh  with  an  exactness  as 
complete  as  if  the  destinies  of  the  universe  depended  upon  this 
one  result.  Let  every  man  in  this  assembly  only  realize  this. 
It  is  important  that  I  should  ask  you  to  do  so :  for  I  believe  it  is 
not  increase  of  light  that  you  need  from  the  pulpit,  so  much  as 
increase  of  power  in  the  pew,  that  will  make  the  light  which  you 
feel  to  become  life,  and  the  lessons  that  you  know  to  be  im- 
pressed with  effect.  Let  us  then  try  to  realize  this  solemn 
truth;  and  if  there  be  a  God  in  heaven  it  is  true,  that  there  is 
not  a  motive  in  the  depths  of  our  hearts,  there  is  not  a  design 
the  most  intricate,  the  most  secret  within  us,  there  is  not  a 
crooked  path  you  intend  to  pursue  to-morrow,  nor  a  crooked 
practice  in  which  you  intend  to  indulge  next  week,  that  God 
does  not  now  completely  comprehend  and  unravel,  the  estimate 
of  which  God  does  not  now  form,  and  the  doom  of  which  is  not 


WEIGHED   AND    FOUND    WANTING.  181 

denounced  at  a  tribunal  from  wliieli  there  can  be  no  appeal. 
Psalm  cxxxix.  ought  to  be  the  expression  of  our  feelings  now : 
"Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known  me;  thou  art  ac- 
quainted with  all  my  ways :  thou  knowest  my  thoughts  afar  off.'' 
I  have  often  been  struck  with  that  single  clause  in  Psalm 
cxxxix.,  God  '^ knows  our  thought  afar  off.''  While  the  thought 
looms  in  the  distant  horizon,  before  we  have  clearly  conceived  it 
ourselves  in  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  its  dimensions,  God 
sees  it,  knows  it,  and  thoroughly  appreciates  it.  By  him  all 
thoughts  are  estimated,  all  actions  are  weighed,  and  all  desires 
are  known.  This  is  not  the  case  with  one  individual  more  than 
another,  or  one  degree  or  rank  more  than  another.  The  Psalm- 
ist, in  the  passage  I  have  already  quoted,  says,  "  Men  of  low 
degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high  degree  are  a  lie;  to  be  laid 
in  the  balance,  they  are  altogether  lighter  than  vanity."  Let  the 
thought  be  in  the  heart  of  a  monarch  or  a  beggar,  let  it  be  the  ap- 
propriated dishonesty  of  a  penny,  or  the  seizing  violently  of  a 
kingdom — God  sees  it  and  notes  it :  and  every  deed  that  is  done 
upon  the  earth,  unrepented  of  and  unforgiven,  shall  be  heard  in 
reverberating  crashes  throughout  eternity;  the  crime  containing 
in  its  bosom  its  punishments,  and  all  eternity  attesting  that  it 
is  so. 

But  let  me  look  at  the  words  I  have  selected,  and  especially  at 
the  word  "  tekel,"  "  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found  wanting," 
because  it  is  to  each  individually  and  personally  instructive.  God 
weighs  every  man,  we  are  told,  in  the  scales  of  the  sanctuary. 
He  weighs  them  at  the  judgment-seat,  and  in  reference  to  their 
everlasting  state  of  happiness  or  of  sorrow.  There  is  placed,  if 
you  will  allow  me  to  prosecute  the  figure  without  exhausting  it, 
or  extracting  more  from  it  than  it  is  meant  to  convey,  in  one 
scale,  God's  holy,  everlasting,  immutable  law — that  law  which  is, 
"  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength, 
and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  He  will  not  subtract  one  atom  :  it 
is  not  "thou  shalt  love  with  much  of  thine  heart;"  but,  "thou 
shalt  love  with  all  thine  heart."  It  is  not,  "thou  shalt  love  with 
a  large  share  of  thy  mind,"  but  "  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself."     This  is  placed  in  one  scale  :  every  man's 

16 


182  PEOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

character  is  placed  in  the  opposite  scale,  and  by  its  preponderance 
or  its  lightness  every  man's  doom  is  fixed  and  decided  accordingly. 
What  have  we  to  place  against  it  ?  Years  without  thought,  and 
days  and  nights  without  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  God.  Years 
of  selfishness,  and  sin,  and  rebellion,  and  suspicion,  and  hatred, 
is  all  that  man,  the  best  among  us,  can  place  in  the  scale  that 
is  weighed  against  this.  And  needs  it  any  logic  of  mine  to  de- 
monstrate that  when  in  the  one  scale  there  is  a  perfect  unchang- 
ing law,  demanding  perfect,  continuous,  unswerving  obedience, 
and  in  the  other  are  sin  and  folly  and  shame,  the  inscription  must 
appear  upon  the  very  scales  that  belong  to  the  balance,  "By  deeds 
of  law  no  man  living  can  be  justified?''  "Tekel,  thou  art  weighed 
in  the  balance,  and  art  found  wanting.^' 

But  suppose,  in  the  next  place,  I  keep  still  in  the  one  scale, 
this  holy,  perfect  law,  demanding  perfect  love  for  Grod,  and  per- 
fect love  for  your  neighbour;  and  suppose  I  select  the  most  ac- 
complished, the  most  honourable,  the  most  just,  the  most  generous 
of  mankind,  (and  all  these  traits  are  beautiful,  because  originally 
divine,)  and  suppose  I  place  this  man,  who  has  paid  every  debt, 
who  owes  no  man  any  thing,  who  is  characterized  by  every  social, 
national,  personal,  and  domestic  excellence — and  all  these  things 
are  most  precious  and  most  excellent;  and  I  only  wish  that 
Christians  were  more  and  more  adorned  with  them  than  they 
are — suppose  I  put  such  an  one  in  the  scale  opposite  to  that 
which  contains  the  holy  and  the  unchanging  law  of  God.  What 
would  be  the  result  ?  That  this  scale  must  inevitably  kick  the 
beam.  For,  when  the  experiment  is  made,  we  must  say  to  him, 
"  Most  justly  have  you  done  to  man,  but  how  stand  you  with 
reference  to  God  ?  most  generously  have  you  acted  in  society,  but 
how  have  you  acted  toward  God  ?  you  have  kept  the  last  six 
commandments  of  the  law,  I  will  assume,  perfectly;  but  what 
have  you  done  with  the  four  first?  you  have  loved  your  neigh-, 
bour,  I  will  admit,  with  all  your  heart ;  but  have  you  loved  God 
with  all  your  heart,  and  mind,  and  strength  ?  It  is  utterly  im- 
possible that  a  half-obedience  can  meet  the  requirements  of  a  law 
which  demands  whole  obedience  to  every  commandment  and  every 
section  of  it.  You  are  not  wanting  if  you  are  weighed  against 
the  last  six  commandments  of  the  law;  but  you  are  'Uc/cel/'  alto- 


WEIGHED   AND   FOUND   WANTING.  183 

getlier  wanting,  if  weigbed  against  tlic  whole  ten  commandments 
of  the  law.  It  will  be  no  justification  in  the  sight  of  God  that 
you  have  been  blameless  toward  man,  if  you  have  not  been  what 
God  requires  you  to  be  toward  him  that  made-  you,  and  gave  his 
Son  to  redeem  you. 

But  I  will  adduce  another  character,  and  weigh  him.  I  will 
take  the  man  who  is  not  only  just,  and  generous,  and  good  in  all 
the  relationships  of  social  life — and  such  men  there  are,  bearing 
mark  of  man's  original  beauty  and  perfection  which  sin  and  Satan 
have  not  altogether  effiiced — but  who,  in  addition,  is  most  strict 
in  his  attention  to  what  are  popularly  called  "  all  his  religious 
duties '/'  who  is  never  absent  from  the  church ;  who  belongs  to 
the  strictest  and  most  rigid  sect  in  that  church ;  who  is  a 
punctilious  observer  of  every  ceremony ;  who  never  made  a  genu- 
flexion too  few  or  too  many ;  who  never  was  absent  from  matins 
in  the  morning  or  from  vespers  at  night  •  never  ftiiled  to  bow  at 
the  name  of  Jesus ;  wore  black  on  Good  Friday,  and  dressed  in 
white  upon  Easter  Sunday;  one  who  fasted  while  others  feasted — 
is  such  a  one,  who  has  been  thus  exact,  thus  punctilious,  thus 
obedient  to  every  ecclesiastical  requirement,  who  has  been  thus 
baptized,  thus  confirmed,  thus  consecrated,  thus  dedicated,  thus 
absolved — is  he  to  be  classed  with  the  multitude  of  mankind  ? — 
is  he,  when  weighed  in  the  scales,  to  be  pronounced  "  altogether 
wanting  ?"  The  answer  is,  God's  law  is  not  satisfied  with  cere- 
monies. You  cannot  pay  your  debts  to  God  in  rubrics.  The 
sound  will  still  thunder  in  your  ears.  Who  has  recjuired  this  at 
your  hands  ?  God's  law  is,  "  Thou  shalt  love ;"  your  response 
has  been,  "I  have  performed.''  The  decision  must  be,  that  with 
all  your  ecclesiastical  ceremonies,  and  with  all  your  social  excel- 
lences, the  first  ecclesiastically  perfect,  the  last  morally  exact, 
when  weighed  against  the  holy,  unchangeable,  unswerving  law 
of  God,  you  are  "  altogether  wanting." 

But  I  will  add  one  feature  more,  and  will  assume  this  charac- 
ter to  be  perfected  by  another;  that  he  is  in  all  not  only  perfectly 
sincere,  but  an  earnest  inquirer  after  truth,  anxious  in  all  respects 
to  know  and  do  his  duty.  Surely  such  a  one,  when  weighed  in 
the  balance,  though  he  has  erred  and  come  short  in  some  things, 
will  be  forgiven,  in  that  he  was  sincere  in  the  pursuit  of  all 


s 


184  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

things.  I  answer,  sincerity  added  to  a  sin  does  not  make  it 
virtue ;  sincerity  added  to  a  lieresy  does  not  make  it  orthodoxy. 
"When  one  is  sincere,  we  respect  the  man  because  he  is  so )  but 
if  he  is  in  error,  we  do  not  the  less  condemn  the  error,  because 
he  is  sincere  that  holds  it.  The  sincerity  with  which  he  holds  it 
makes  us  no  less  heartily  denounce  the  error  that  ruins  his  soul. 
I  have  not  a  doubt  that  there  are  sincere  Jews,  sincere  and  en- 
thusiastic Romanists,  sincere  Socinians  and  skeptics — I  have  no 
doubt  of  it.  Their  sincerity  must  make  me  treat  them  with 
respect,  their  error  remains  to  be  judged  by  him  in  whose  word 
it  is  clearly  and  unequivocally  denounced.  Saul  of  Tarsus  said, 
^'  I  verily  thought  that  I  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the 
name  of  Jesus. ^'  He  was  perfectly  sincere ;  but  he  adds,  in  the 
retrospect  of  his  sincerity,  ''Those  things  which  were  gain  to  me, 
those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ ;  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ. ^^  The  sin- 
cerest  ecclesiastic,  and  the  sincerest  moralist,  if  unjustified  by  a 
righteousness  without  them,  and  unwashed  in  the  Redeemer's 
blood,  when  weighed  in  the  scales  of  the  sanctuary,  must  be 
found  "  altogether  wanting.^'  There  is  not,  in  one  word,  a  saint 
upon  earth,  the  most  excellent  that  ever  breathed,  who  is  not 
compelled  at  every  moment  to  say,  ''  If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us ;"  and  there 
is  not  an  enlightened  and  a  Christian  heart  that  docs  not  breathe, 
in  the  prospect  of  a  judgment-seat,  "Enter  not  into  judgment 
with  thy  servant,  0  Lord,  for  in  thy  sight  can  no  man  living  be 
justified.^'  There  is  not  a  Christian  in  this  assembly  who  knows 
what  sin  is,  and  what  his  own  heart  is,  and  how  pure,  how  per- 
fect, how  infinite  in  its  exactions  is  the  holy  law  of  Grdd,  who 
does  not  feel,  ''  If  thou.  Lord,  shouldst  mark  iniquity,  0  Lord, 
who  could  stand  ?"  Therefore  there  is  not  a  Christian  who,  as 
he  thinks  of  this  dread  balance,  and  of  that  most  perfect  law,  and 
of  his  own  deep  and  conscious  defects,  does  not  cry,  and  cry  with 
unfeigned  lips,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'' 

How  then  can  we  meet  this  law?  how  can  we  escape  the 
inscription  "  tekel,"  weighed  and  found  wanting?  Against  tlie 
law  is  weighed  for  us  the  magnifier  of  that  law.  Against  the  law 
with  its  infinite  demands,  is  wejo-hed  the  infinite  rio-hteouf-ness 


WEIGHED   AND   FOUND   WANTING.  185 

of  him  that  made  it  honourable.  Against  the  breach  of  that 
law  is  placed  that  precious  blood  which  cleaiLseth  from  all  sin. 
When  we  look  at  that  law,  the  inscription  impressed  upon  every 
soul  is,  "  weighed  and  found  wanting.'^  But  when  we  look  at 
Christ,  who  is  our  representative  in  the  prospect  of  the  decisions 
of  that  law,  then  the  inscription  ^'tekel,'^  weighed  and  found 
wanting,  is  washed  away  in  his  precious  blood,  and  the  glorious 
and  illuminated  characters  are  inscribed  in  their  stead,  "  com- 
plete in  Christ,  without  spot  or  blemish,  or  any  such  thing." 

I  have  looked  then  at  man  as  weighed  against  God's  holy 
law;  and  we  have  seen  that  by  deeds  of  law  no  flesh  can  be  jus- 
tified"— that  "weighed  and  found  wanting"  is  our  inscription  by 
nature;  and  that  justified,  and  complete,  and  accepted  is  only 
our  inheritance  by  grace.  I  now  take  the  expression  "weighed 
and  found  wanting"  in  reference  to  Christian  character.  I  put 
in  the  one  scale  not  Grod's  holy  law,  but  I  put  in  it  true,  though 
it  may  not  be  perfect,  Christian  character;  and  I  wish  you  to 
look  at  various  characters,  as  weighed  against  it,  and  see  if  we 
are  among  those  who,  thus  weighed,  are  "found  wanting." 

In  the  first  place,  they  are  weighed  and  found  wanting  who 
are  not  converted,  or  born  again,  or  changed  in  heart  and  spirit. 
We  are  told  in  Scripture  that  the  carnal  mind  is  "enmity 
against  God,"  and  the  unconverted  man,  however  outwardly 
decorous,  is  the  child  of  the  wicked  one.  Now  understand  what 
I  mean  by  regeneration.  I  do  not  mean  baptism;  I  do  not 
mean  a  decent  outward  change;  but  total  transformation  of  cha- 
racter— a  transition  from  a  state  of  darkness,  of  distance,  and  of 
sin,  to  a  state  of  light,  of  nearness  to  God,  of  holiness,  and  of 
happiness.  I  mean  by  it,  not  a  mere  ecclesiastical  change,  but 
life  from  the  dead,  or  as  it  called  by  the  apostle,  "a  new  crea- 
ture." It  is  not,  as  some  persons  call  it,  thoughtfulness.  That 
is  not  conversion.  It  is  not  seriousness,  but  regeneration :  it  is 
not  becoming  thoughtful,  but  it  is  being  converted.  It  is  not 
outward  conformity  to  any  requirement,  but  a  thorough,  inner, 
radical  revolution  of  mind,  of  preference,  of  wishes,  of  hopes. 
It  is  not  religious  excitement;  it  is  not  ecclesiastical  zeal;  it  is 
not  an  inappreciable  and  minute  change,  but  it  is  as  complete  in 
the  soul  as  the  symbol  that  indicates  it,  "being  born  again." 

16«- 


18'6  mOPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

Do  not  deceive  yourselves  in  tliis  matter:  depend  upon  it,  it  is 
far  easier  to  know  if  we  are  so  than  many  persons  are  disposed 
to  admit.  Many  get  rid  of  tlie  responsibility  of  ascertaining  if 
tliey  are  so,  by  pronouncing  it  very  difficult  and  very  delicate. 
Certainly,  to  pronounce  upon  others  is  a  very  doubtful  and  deli- 
cate point;  but  to  pronounce  upon  ourselves  is  not  so  difficult  a 
thing  as  our  own  passions  and  prejudices  lead  us  to  suppose.  I 
ask  you,  can  the  sun  rise  to  his  meridian  at  noon  and  shine  upon 
the  earth,  and  we  be  unconscious  of  it  ?  Can  the  dead  step  forth 
from  their  tombs,  and  themselves  not  be  aware  of  the  change? 
Can  the  spring  burst  upon  the  earth,  and  make  it  break  forth 
into  blossom,  verdure,  and  beauty,  and  we  not  know  it?  Can 
the  slave  be  made  free — the  maniac  be  made  rational,  and  nei- 
ther of  them  be  conscious  that  a  great  change  has  overtaken 
them?  And  yet  all  these  changes  are  not  greater,  but  very 
much  less  than  that  change  which  must  pass  upon  every  man 
before  he  can  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  for  it  is  written, 
''Except,^'  and  until  ^^ye  be  born  again,  ye  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God."  And  therefore,  my  dear  friends,  whatever  excel- 
lencies you  may  have  outwardly — and  I  do  not  wish  to  depre- 
ciate them — whatever  external  accomplishments  you  may  have — 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  deny  them — if  they  were  weighed,  the 
brightest  of  them  all,  against  the  definition  of  Christian  charac- 
ter, as  given  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  will  be  found  utterly  "•want- 
ing." Then,  if  this  be  so,  is  there  a  question  we  can  ask  which 
more  vitally  concerns  us  than  this — Are  we  born  again?  are  we 
shams  or  realities?  are  we  Christians  or  worldlings?  are  we 
transformed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  are  we  still  ^'  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins?"  If  I  have  overstated  the  doctrine,  then  you 
may  despise  it;  but  if  I  have  understated  it,  which  is  what  1 
have  done,  then,  my  dear  friends,  carry  home  with  you  this 
night  this  deep,  personal,  individual  impression,  that  whatever 
you  may  have  be,  whatever  you  may  have  given,  whatever  you 
may  have  suffered,  whatever  you  have  sacrificed,  however  jon 
may  have  been  baptized,  at  whatever  church  or  chapel  you  may 
worship,  "except  ye  be  born  again,  you  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God." 

Let  me,  in  the  next  place,  state  this — men  are  "weighed  and 


WEIGHED    AND    FUCND    WANTING.  187 

found  wanting"  when  they  are  living,  constantly  living,  at  this 
moment  in  the  practice  of  any  known,  deliberate,  and  voluntary 
sin.  It  is  true  of  every  man  at  every  moment,  "if  we  say  we 
have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves;'^  but  it  is  as  true  of  the 
Christian  at  eveiy  moment,  that  he  wars  against  all  transgres- 
sions, and  becomes  every  day,  like  the  shining  light,  more  and 
more  victorious.  Do  not  in  this  matter  deceive  yourselves.  If 
you  harbour  deliberately  pride,  vain-glory,  avarice,  ambition, 
murmuring,  discontent,  bitterness,  evil-speaking,  lying,  and  slan- 
dering— if  these  sins  you  knowingly  indulge  in,  then,  my  dear 
friends,  you  give  evidence  in  so  far,  that  you  are  not  born  again 
— that  you  have  not  the  Christian  character  that  will  stand — 
that  you  are  in  the  category  and  condition  of  those  who,  when 
weighed  in  the  scales  in  order  to  ascertain  if  they  are  fit  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  have  in  them  that  amount  of  alloy  which 
destroys  all  the  value  of  the  gold :  they  have  not  reached  the 
standard — they  cannot  be  stamped  with  the  impress  of  divine 
approval — they  must  be  rejected  as  reprobate  and  worthless 
gold. 

They,  too,  in  the  next  place,  are  "  weighed  and  found  want- 
ing," who  do  not  exhibit  in  their  character  the  distinctive  juid 
peculiar  features  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Many  men  are  consti- 
tutionally moral,  and  the  man  who  is  addicted  to  one  sin  from 
his  constitutional  temperament,  is  generally  found  the  most  elo- 
quent denouncer  of  him  who  lives  in  the  sin  to  which  he  is  not 
naturally  prone.  There  may  be  very  moral  men  who  neverthe- 
less are  not  Christians.  If  I  understand  the  object  of  the  gos- 
pel, it  is  not  simply  to  make  us  moral,  but  to  make  us  more  than 
moral — "a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people — a  chosen  generation, 
zealous  of  good  works. '^  Surely  Christ  did  not  die — surely  Pen- 
tecost did  not  dawn,  in  order  that  we  might  be  just  like  the  rest 
of  mankind,  in  order  that  it  might  be  very  difficult  to  distin- 
guish whether  we  are  Christians  or  not.  The  little  space  be- 
tween us  and  the  world  is  proof.  I  fear  the  world  has  not  made 
a  nearer  approach  to  us,  but  that  we  have  made  a  nearer  descent 
toward  the  world.  If  I  read  the  Scriptures  aright — and  it  is  so 
clear  in  these  cases  that  he  that  reads  it  may  nm  while  he  reads 
it — Christians  are  a  people  distinguished  and  separate  from  the 


188  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

rest  of  the  world;  they  belong  to  an  empire  of  glory  and  of 
beauty,  so  impressive,  that  the  world's  enmity  is  provoked  by 
the  contrast.  I  ask  you  if  you  are  the  subjects  of  this  empire? 
if  you,  not  separating  myself  from  you,  are  characterized  by  the 
features  of  them  who  are  heirs  of  God — who  are  followers  of  the 
Lamb — who  are  witnesses  for  Christ — who  let  their  light  so 
shine  before  men  that  others,  seeing  their  good  works,  might  glo- 
rify their  Father  in  heaven. 

All  these,  I  would  notice,  are  ^^  weighed  and  found  wanting" — 
wanting  in  their  fitness  for  heaven,  which  is  just  as  necessary 
as  their  title  to  heaven,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken.  Never 
forget  this  great  truth,  that  we  need  two  things  in  order  to 
reach  heaven;  we  need  as  much  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
within  us  to  fit  us  for  heaven,  as  we  need  the  work  and  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  without  us  to  entitle  us  to  heaven;  and 
the  man  whose  heart  has  not  been  changed  by  the  Spirit's 
power,  may  depend  upon  it,  that  he  is  destitute  of  any  thing 
like  a  title  that  will  admit  him  to  the  presence  of  God  and  of 
the  Lamb. 

I  have  looked  at  man  then  as  "  weighed  and  defective'^  in  his 
title;  I  am  looking  at  him  now  as  *' weighed  and  defective"  in 
his  fitness  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  I  observe,  that  they 
are  ''  weighed  and  found  wanting,"  who  take  deeper  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world  than  they  take  in  those  of  Christ.  One 
of  the  characteristics  of  earthly  minds  given  by  the  apostle  is, 
'^  who  mind  earthly  things."  One  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
people  of  God  is,  ^'  whose  conversation,  ^.  e.  their  conduct,  their 
sympathies,  their  feelings,  are  all  in  heaven.  I  ask  you,  what  is 
the  predominating  tone  in  your  mind,  what  is  the  great  direction 
in  which  you  are  impelled  ?  where  runs,  and  to  what  rulis  the 
main  current  of  all  your  sympathies,  your  affections,  youv  hopes, 
and  your  desires  ?  We  are  not,  my  dear  friends,  borne  to  heaven 
accidentally  :  no  man  goes  to  heaven  but  he  that  sets  his  heart 
thitherward.  Ask  yourselves  then.  Do  you  mind  eaj'thly  things, 
or  heavenly  things  ?  what  is  the  aim,  the  object,  the  predomi- 
nating desire  of  your  mind  ?  where  is  your  heart  ?  what  is  your 
treasure  ?  for  whom  do  you  chiefly  live  ?  These  are  weighty 
questions  :  they  are  scriptural  ones ;  your  response  to  them  will 


WEIGHED   AND    FOUND    WANTING.  189 

determine  whether  yon  are  or  are  not  wanting  in  fitness  for  hea- 
ven, and  in  real  Christian  character. 

In  the  next  place,  they  are  wanting  when  weighed  in  the  scales 
of  the  sanctuary,  who  do  not  aid  the  cause  of  Christ  and  its  ex- 
tension through  the  world  by  their  prayers,  their  efforts,  their 
means,  and  their  exertions.  If  you  be  a  Christian,  you  must  be 
a  missionary.  I  doubt  if  it  be  possible  to  be  a  Christian  oneself 
and  not  to  be  consumed  by  an  absorbing  desire  to  make  all  the 
world  Christians  too.  I  ask,  then,  if,  when  you  hear  that  there 
are  minds  unenlightened  by  the  glorious  gospel — that  there  are 
children  uninstructed  in  the  things  that  belong  to  their  present  and 
their  everlasting  peace — that  there  are  Bibles  needed,  that  there 
are  missionaries  to  be  sent,  in  order  that  the  blessings  of  Chris- 
tianity may  be  advanced,  however  poor  your  means  may  be,  how- 
ever inadequate  to  the  demands  and  exigencies  of  the  case,  can  it 
then  be  said  of  you,  as  was  said  of  the  woman  in  the  gospel, 
^'  She  bath  done  what  she  could  V  If  you  were  poor,  or  hungry, 
or  thirsty,  or  naked,  would  you  call  him  a  friend  who  refused  to 
give  you  food,  and  water,  and  raiment  ?  But  Christ  identifies 
himself  with  all  the  needy  upon  earth,  when  he  says,  "  Inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  unto  them  ye  did  it  unto  me.^'  There  cannot  be  the 
supreme  love  of  Christ  within  you  unless  there  is  corresponding 
sympathy  with  God's  people  without  you.  It  is  thus,  then,  that 
I  have  asked  you  to  weigh  your  own  condition  against  what  seems 
to  be  the  characteristics  of  a  Christian,  and  to  ascertain  if,  in  the 
sight  of  Grod,  you  are  of  those  who  are  "  made  meet  for  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  saints  in  light,"  or  among  those  who  give  obvious 
evidence  that  they  have  no  lot  or  part  in  this  matter.  I  may  ap- 
ply the  same  great  truth  to  official  personages.  Let  me  apply  it 
to  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Such  an  one  may  be  gifted,  eloquent, 
versed  in  theology,  outwardly  moral,  laborious  in  all  pastoral 
duties ;  and  yet,  weighed  in  the  scales  of  the  sanctuary,  he  may 
be  "  altogether  wanting."  Gifts  need  not  be  graces  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  There  may  be  the  eloquence  of  the  gifted  tongue  without 
the  unction  of  the  consecrated  heart.  There  may  be  the  ordina- 
tion of  the  bishop  or  the  presbytery,  but  not  the  consecration  wliicli 
God's  Holy  Spirit  alone  can  give.  He  may  have  all  gifts,  all 
eloquence,  all  theological  knowledge,  all  polite  learning — yet,  if 


190  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

wanting  in  singleness  of  eye,  unity  of  purpose,  earnest  devoted- 
ness  to  the  true  end  of  his  office,  the  conversion  of  souls,  and  the 
glory  of  God,  however  he  may  be  applauded  by  the  tongues  of 
men,  weighed  in  the  scales  of  the  sanctuary,  he  too  is  "  altogether 
wanting/^ 

So  I  may  apply  these  words  to  a  church.  It  may  have  all  that 
Caesar  can  give — able  ministers,  a  splendid  literature,  the  rich  and 
the  great  in  its  audience,  and  yet  it  may  be  wanting  in  all  that 
constitutes  the  church  of  Christ.  The  architect  can  build  a 
glorious  cathedral ;  Christ's  presence  alone  can  make  it  a  church. 
The  builder  may  raise  a  magnificent  edifice,  the  queen's  presence 
alone  can  make  it  a  palace.  The  orator  may  preach  so  that  the 
crowd  may  be  thrilled  with  his  oratory,  impressed  with  his  reason- 
ing, riveted  by  his  appeals }  but  he  may  not  be  a  minister,  and 
that  crowd  may  not  be  a  church : — "  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  nctme^' — that  is  the  essential — '^  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them.^'  No  presence  can  compensate  for 
the  absence  of  this.  No  patronage  can  be  a  substitute  for  this. 
Laodicea  said,  '^I  am  rich  and  increased  with  goods,  and  have 
need  of  nothing ;''  and  at  the  very  moment  when  she  was  saying 
so,  Christ  was  weighing  her  in  the  scales  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
h\3  pronounced  of  her,  ^'  tekel;"  thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances; 
^'  thou  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and  miserable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked. ^' 

In  the  same  manner  I  inay  apply  these  words  to  a  nation.  It 
was  applied  in  the  passage  on  which  I  am  now  commenting  to  a 
nation — namely,  to  that  great  kingdom  over  which  Belsliazzar 
reigned.  A  nation  may  have  brave  soldiers,  hardy  sailors,  gifted 
legislators,  eloquent  senators,  prosperous  trade,  thriving  agricul- 
ture, all  the  splendour  and  power,  all  the  material  strength  of 
Imperial  Rome,  all  the  glory  and  the  literary  fame  of  Athens, 
and  yet  that  nation,  when  weighed  in  the  scales,  may  be  altogether 
^'  wanting."  Its  aim  may  be  territorial  aggrandizement — its  sole 
passion  may  be  ambition — its  eloquence,  its  efi"orts,  its  arms  may 
all  be  exerted  in  favour  of  conquest  and  aggression — it  may  not 
be  seeking  the  glory  of  its  Clod,  but  the  supremacy  and  the 
immortality  of  itself.  Never  forget  that  a  nation's  sinews  are  its 
Christians  J    its  battlements  arc  its  principles;  its  guide  is,  or 


AYEIGIIED   AND   FOUND    V/ANTING.  ]91 

ouglit  to  be,  tlie  word  of  God.  Real  principle  running  through 
a  land,  pervading  every  institution,  giving  its  tone  to  all  its  varied 
national  crystallization — not  expediency — is  power,  and  strength, 
and  immortality.  A  nation  has  not  done  its  duty  when  it  builds 
jails;  it  has  not  done  all  it  ought  to  do,  when  it  pays  a  police.  There 
is  something  higher,  nobler,  more  precious  than  all  this ;  and  if 
it  fail  here,  when  weighed  in  the  scales  it  will  be  found  to  be 
"tekel;"  and  its  doom  is  written,  "  Mene,  mene,  tekel,  uphar- 
sin;"  its  years  are  numbered ;  it  is  weighed  in  the  balances,  and 
found  wanting. 

Such  then,  are  some  of  the  practical  thoughts  arising  out  of  the 
words  I  have  now  read.  Let  me  ask  you  now,  in  closing  my  re- 
marks, to  examine  yourselves.  Is  there  any  thing  wanting  in 
your  title — any  thing  deficient  in  your  fitness  for  heaven  ?  For- 
get not,  my  dear  friends,  that  it  is  possible  to  be  "  almost  a 
Christian,''  and  not  to  be  saved.  It  is  possible  to  reach  nine 
points  of  Christian  character,  and  to  perish  because  you  have  not 
the  tenth.  To  be  almost  saved,  is  only  to  be  condemned  with  a 
more  terrible  judgment.  The  very  height  from  which  you  fall 
renders  that  fall  the  more  disastrous. 

And,  in  the  next  place,  let  there  be,  after  the  examination  of 
our  hearts,  deep  humility.  All  that  is  in  us  is  fitted  to  humble 
us ;  and  the  man  that  knows  himself  best  will  feel  most  humbled 
in  the  sight  of  God.  All  present  will  have  some  share  in  the 
common  inscription  upon  the  greatest  and  the  lowest :  "  Tekel ; 
Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found  wanting." 

And  let  us  recollect,  in  the  next  place,  that  if,  under  a  deep 
sense  of  the  pressure  of  that  perilous  condition,  we  cry  with  our 
whole  heart  unto  God,  that  he  will  save  us — if  conscious  that  we 
have  not  a  farthing  to  pay  we  ask  him  frankly  to  forgive  us  all — 
if  conscious  that,  when  weighed  against  this  law,  we  must  kick 
the  beam,  and  be  found  altogether  wanting — let  us  fly  to  that 
righteousness  which  alone  can  justify  us,  let  us  seek  shelter  in 
that  City  of  Refuge  in  which  alone  we  can  be  saved — let  us  ap- 
peal to  that  cleansing  blood  which  alone  can  wash  away  the  in- 
scription ^^  tekel,"  and  that  righteousness  which  alone  can  con- 
stitute our  title  as  ^'accepted  and  beloved."  Each  minute  as  it 
passes  carries  us  nearer  to  the  burial-place  of  the  dead,  and  to  the 


192  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

judgment-scat  of  the  living.  A  few  more  years,  and  those  faces 
that  are  now  looking,  I  trustj  with  anxious  thoughts,  will  be 
numbered  with  the  dead,  and  our  souls,  those  live  sparks  that 
never  can  be  quenched — thos6  great  and  sacred  ^'  bundles  of  re- 
sponsibilities'^ which  can  never  die,  will  have  to  stand  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  God,  either  shivering  and  looking  into  that  un- 
known, unfathomed  abyss  of  wo,  or  rejoicing,  clothed  in  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  and  anticipating  that  joy,  that  inhe- 
ritance, that  blessedness  which  is  incorruptible  and  fadeth  not 
away.  My  dear  friends,  deal  honestly  with  yourselves;  have 
done  with  church,  with  ceremony,  with  sign,  with  sacrament,  till 
you  have  settled  this  question.  Am  I  a  child  of  God,  or  am  I  not  ? 
I  believe  that  nine-tenths  of  the  controversies  of  the  day  are  the 
devil's  delusions  to  prevent  men  from  settling  God's  great  con- 
troversy, "  Are  we  the  children  of  God,  or  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one  ?" 


193 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


V  THE   PRIME    MINISTER. 

''It  pleased  Darius  to  set  over  the  kingdom  an  hundi-ed  and  twenty  princes, 
Tvhich  should  he  over  the  whole  kingdom,-  and  over  these  three  presidents,  of 
whom  Daniel  was  first :  that  the  princes  might  give  accounts  unto  them,  and 
the  king  should  have  no  damage.  Then  this  Daniel  was  preferred  above  the 
presidents  and  princes,  because  an  excellent  spirit  was  in  him ;  and  the  king 
thought  to  set  him  over  the  whole  realm.  Then  the  presidents  and  princes 
sought  to  find  occasion  against  Daniel  concerning  the  kingdom;  but  they  could 
find  none  occasion  or  fault;  forasmuch  as  he  was  faithful,  neither  was  there 
any  error  or  fault  found  in  him.  Then  said  these  men.  We  shall  not  find  any 
occasion  against  this  Daniel,  except  we  find  it  against  him  concerning  the  law 
of  his  God.  Then  these  presidents  and  princes  assembled  together  to  the  king, 
and  said  thus  unto  him,  King  Darius,  live  for  ever.  All  the  presidents  of  the 
kingdom,  the  governors,  and  the  princes,  the  counsellors,  and  the  captains, 
have  consulted  together  to  establish  a  royal  statute,  and  to  make  a  firm  decree, 
that  whosoever  shall  ask  a  petition  of  any  god  or  man  for  thirty  days,  save  of 
thee,  0  king,  he  shall  be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions.  Now,  0  king,  establish  the 
decree,  and  sign  the  writing,  that  it  be  not  changed,  according  to  the  law  of 
the  Medes  and  Persians,  which  altereth  not.  Wherefore  king  Darius  signed 
the  writing  and  the  decree.  Now  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was 
signed,  he  went  into  his  house :  and  his  windows  being  open  in  his  chamber 
toward  Jerusalem,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees  three  times  a  day,  and  prayed, 
and  gave  thanks  before  his  God,  as  he  did  aforetime." — Daniel  vi.  1-10. 

We  read  in  the  previous  chapters  that  great  Babylon,  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  Chaldees,  had  passed  away,  and  that  on  the  very 
night  when  the  mysterious  fingers  wrote  the  long  inexplicable 
inscription  on  the  plaster,  Belshazzar,  the  king  of  the  Chaldeans, 
was  slain,  and  Darius,  the  king  of  the  Medo-Persian  empire, 
mounted  its  forsaken  throne  and  received  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment. It  was  after  this,  and  on  the  crumbling  ruins  of  Babylon, 
that  the  Medo-Persian  empire  rose  to  splendour,  and  occupied 
its  brief  space  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Darius,  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  king,  was,  of  course,  a  heathen;  but,  heathen  as 

17 


194  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

lie  was,  lie  saw  sometliing  in  tlic  character  and  general  conduct 
of  Daniel,  wliicli  led  him  to  believe  that  there  was  no  one  more 
worthy  of  a  dignified  place,  a  place  of  power  and  responsibility, 
than  Daniel ;  the  Christian,  as  we  may  tnily  call  him, — the  Jew, 
as  he  nationally  was.  He  had  witnessed  his  skill  in  solving  a 
mysterious  inscription;  a  skill  which  indicated  communion  with 
the  fountain  of  wisdom:  he  saw  strongly  developed  prudence, 
integrity,  talent,  steadfastness,  and  even  success  in  all  he  under- 
took; and,  amid  his  own  gross  superstition,  his  eyes  could  not 
fail  to  distinguish  so  remarkable  a  subject,  nor  his  own  sense  of 
propriety  and  advantage  fail  to  see  in  that  captive  Jew  a  meet- 
ness  for  service  as  rare  as  valuable.  C  They  who  do  not  understand 
a  Christian's  creed,  will  and  do  appreciate  a  Christian's  walk.J 
Heathens  understand  a  pure  and  noble  life,  even  if  they  do  not 
comprehend  an  orthodox  creed.  Yv^e  learn  from  the  impression 
produced  upon  Darius  by  the  conduct  of  Daniel — a  conduct 
which  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  was  unobtnisive  and 
retiring,  that  real  Christianity  cannot  be  hid.  If  you  are  not  a 
Christian  it  is  of  no  use  for  you  to  call  yourself  one,  or  to  pre- 
tend to  be  one,  for  the  eye  even  of  the  most  casual  observer  will 
be  able  to  penetrate  the  vail  of  h^^DOcrisy,  and  detect  the  sham 
and  pretension  that  are  beneath;  and  if  you  are  a  Christian,  you 
need  not  proclaim  the  fact  in  the  market-place.  Depend  upon 
it,  wherever  real  Christianity  reigns  in  the  heart,  it  will  press  out- 
ward and  outward,  and  unite  its  name  and  impress  its  influence 
upon  the  place  you  occupy — the  duties  of  the  office  intrusted  to 
you — upon  the  family — the  nation — upon  all  over  whom,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  you  are  placed.  If  there  be  health  in  the 
heart  it  will  bloom  on  the  cheek;  if  there  be  vigour  in  the  muscles 
it  will  show  itself  in  your  walk.  If  there  be  salt  in  the  earth  it 
will  spread;  if  there  be  light,  it  will  shine;  if  the  city  be  set 
upon  a  hill,  it  cannot  be  hid;  if  the  epistle  be  written  by  the. 
Holy  Spirit,  the  apostle  tells  us  it  will  be  ^een  and  read  of  all 
men.  Or,  in  the  words  of  another  sacred  penman,  all  that  see 
them  ^^  shall  take  knowledge  of  them  that  they  have  been  with 
Jesus."  The  man  who  walks  with  God,  we  are  told  by  the 
Psalmist — the  man  who  shrinks  from  the  scorner's  chair,  whose 
delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  will  not  be  hid,  but  he  will  be 


THE   PRIME  MINISTER.  195 

"like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth 
his  fruit  in  his  season;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither,  and  what- 
soever he  doeth  it  shall  prosper." 

Trials  and  afflictions  do  not  hide,  but  rather  bring  out  only  the  | 
more  the  Christian's  character;  instead  of  darkening,  they  brighten  I 
it;  and  many  a  one  whom  you  have  suspected  to  be  a  stranger  to  I 
the  gospel,  when  placed  in  the  furnace,  displays  the  most  beauti-j 
ftd  and  impressive  sense  of  a  long-tried  and  deep  union  and  com- 
munion with  Grod.     It  is  in  affliction  that  the  Christian  shines;' 
it  is  in  the  furnace  that  the  dross  is  consumed,  and  the  pure  vir- 
gin gold  glows  in  all  its  lustre  and  beauty:  it  is  under  circum- 
stances of  affliction  and  distress  that  divine  graces  are  implanted 
in  the  heart  by  the  power  and  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
will  rise  to  the  surface  and  prove  to  all  men,  what  they  cannot 
fail  to  notice  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  real  believers,  ''that 
they  have  been  with  Jesus. •'^     And  this  irrepressible  nature  of 
real  Christianity  is  matter  of  the  deepest  gratitude  and  joy.    Are 
you  not  thankful  that  it  is  so  ?  would  it  not  be  a  pity  that  one 
truth  in  the  gospel  should  be  capable  of  being  concealed?  what 
article  in  your  creed  would  a  Christian  wish  to  hide  ?  What  fruit 
in  that  cluster  of  ''fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  of  which  we  read  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  the  epistle  addressed  to  the  Gralatians,  would  you 
wish  to  conceal  ?     Let  the  miser  hide  his  gold — let  the  admired  \ 
of  all  conceal  her  beauty — let  rank  be  ashamed  of  its  honours —     \ 
let  the  infidel  conceal  his  skepticism,  but  let  not  the  Christian  be 
ashamed  of  that  which  is  the  ornament  of  the  earth,  the  beauty 
of  heaven,  which  gives  weight  to  the  lightest,  and  dignity  at       i 
once  to  the  greatest  and  the  meanest  of  mankind.     Thank  God,     ' 
then,  that  Christianity  cannot  be  hid;  and  that  where  it  is,  there 
it  will  be  felt  and  seen,  and  men  will  own  that  it  is  so. 

1  may  state,  too,  that  it  is  this  silent  but  continuous  and 
irrepressible  power  of  Christian  principle,  which  really  tells  upon 
the  world  around  us.  It  is  not  a  mere  syllogism  that  will  con- 
vert a  skeptic.  It  is  not  a  powerfully  constructed  argument  that 
will  alone  convert  a  Roman  Catholic :  it  is  not  such  specimens 
of  Christianity  as  church  and  chapel  often  furnish,  which  will 
make  men  feel  that  Christianity  is  the  ambassadress  of  God 
and  the  benefactress  of  mankind.     It  is  when  the  world   sees 


196  PllOPHETIC  STUDIES 

Christianity  softening  all,  sweetening,  subduing,  sanctifying,  in- 
spiring, directing  all — giving  its  tone,  shape,  and  colour,  and 
freshness  to  all ;  it  is  when  the  world  sees  Christianity  in  self- 
sacrifice — in  submitting  our  own  temper  and  our  own  inclina- 
tions to  those  of  others — in  giving  way  and  suffering,  rather 
than  appearing  to  dictate  and  presume — it  is  in  the  quiet  by- 
paths of  human  life,  that  Christianity  acts  with  the  greatest 
force,  and  in  which,  if  detected  by  the  skeptic,  he  owns  there 
is  there  the  finger  of  God,  the  evidence  of  a  power  greater  and 
holier  than  human.  So  Darius  saw  Daniel's  Christianity:  he 
understood  not  his  sublime  creed,  but  he  appreciated  his  honesty, 
his  integrity,  his  truth,  his  fiiithfulness.  The  world  itself,  if  it  do 
not  practise,  yet  appreciates  faithfulness  and  integrity.  The  mer- 
chant on  the  Exchange  understands  character,  when  he  neither  stu- 
dies nor  subscribes  a  creed.  Hence  the  pulpit  is  not  the  only  place 
for  preaching. 

Darius  saw  that  integrity  of  conduct  was  an  admirable  qua- 
lification for  a  prime  minister's  ofiice — that  the  man  who  prayed 
to  his  God  was  not  the  least  likely  to  be  useful  to  his  king. 
Even  the  heathen  Darius  saw  that  the  most  admirable  elements 
of  political  efl&ciency  were,  not  party  zeal  and  partisan  enthu- 
siasm, but  faithfulness,  integrity,  honour — all  that  constitute 
these  moral  characteristics,  which  are  the  creations  of  Chris- 
tianit}'-  in  their  greatest  brightness;  and  have  been  often,  but 
less  distinctly,  illustrated  even  by  the  heathens  in  their  deepest 
degradation.  Darius  unquestionably  was  right :  the  true  Christian 
is  ever  the  greatest  patriot.  The  men  who  are  restless,  dis- 
contented, fond  of  change  for  change's  sake,  are  not  generally 
those  who  have  family  worship  and  well-read  Bibles,  and  who 
are  seen  oftenest  in  the  sanctuary;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the 
men  who  are  most  loyal  to  their  sovereign — most  attached  to 
their  country — most  devoted  to  it's  best  interests — most  courage- 
ous on  the  field,  most  steadfast  on  the  deck — most  dutiful  in 
all  things,  generally  are  actuated  by  motives  inspired  by  the 
truth  of  God,  and  distinguished  by  actions  influenced  by  the  con- 
tinual recollection  of  this  great  truth — "Thou  God  seest  me." 

It  is  no  argument  against  all  this,  that  there  are  hypocrites 
who  make   their   pretensions   to   religion   a  passport   to   distin- 


THE   PRIME   MINISTER.  197 

gnished  notice,  or  to  political  power.  Whatever  is  excellent  has 
been  imitated  ever  since  the  world  was.  Never  yet  was  there 
a  coin  current  in  a  realm  that  was  not  forged:  never  yet  was 
there  a  good  bank-note  that  was  not  imitated.  You  do  not  say 
the  thing  itself  is  bad,  because  there  is  a  mockery  of  it.  You 
do  not  reject  the  good  bank-note  because  there  are  bad  ones  in 
the  market.  It  is  one  thing  to  be  a  Christian,  it  is  another 
and  a  very  different  thing  only  to  pretend  to  be  so.  And  be- 
cause there  are  some  men  who  pretend  to  be  Christians  and  are 
not,  you  are  not  therefore  to  suspect  that  every  man  who  seems 
to  be  a  Christian  is  not  so.  In  your  own  conduct,  rather  be 
suspected  not  to  be  a  Christian  than  sound  a  trumpet  to  pro- 
claim that  you  are  so.  Let  your  Christianity  be  an  inference 
that  the  world  might  draw  in  the  exercise  of  its  reason,  rather 
than  a  proclamation  in  the  market-place. 

Daniel  did  not  proclaim  his  religion.  He  did  not  thrust  him- 
self into  the  palace  of  Belshazzar;  and  because  he  was  faithful 
to  his  God,  he  did  not  therefore  act  discourteously  toward  his 
king.  But  the  instant  he  was  sent  for  he  appeared,  and  he 
acted  as  a  Christian  ever  will.  He  did  not  use  his  religion  in 
order  to  obtain  political  power  :  he  did  not  make  his  commu- 
nion to  be  a  passport  to  political  office ;  but  he  lived  as  a 
Christian,  and  left  the  world  to  notice  him  or  not,  as  the  world 
pleased. 

Daniel  was  promoted  to  be  prime  minister  in  one  of  the  ' 
greatest  empires  on  which  the  sun  shone.  But,  like  many  prime  \ 
ministers  of  every  country  and  of  every  age,  the  elevation  to 
which  his  virtues  raised  him  created  envy,  calumny,  and  suspicion. 
I  doubt  whether  elevation  in  this  world  is  so  desirable  a 
thing  as  man's  ignorant  ambition  makes  him  think.  He  that 
is  placed  upon  the  loftiest  pinnacle,  '•'■  the  observed  of  all  ob- 
servers," is  sure  to  create,  or  at  least  see  projected  around  him, 
a  dark,  long-drawn  shadow  of  envy,  jealousy,  suspicion,  and  all 
uncharitableness;  not  because  he  acts  inconsistently,  but  be- 
cause self-seeking  and  dishonest  spirits,  ever  at  enmity  to  truth 
and  integrity,  the  highest  beauty,  hate  the  man  in  proportion 
as  he  is  the  personation  of  them  all.  They  di.slikcd  Daniel,  and 
they  could  not  say  why :  they  could  not  veto  him,  because  ho 


198  PROrHETIC    STUDIES. 

was  a  royal  appointment;  they  could  not  dismiss  him,  for  they 
had  not  the  power ;  and  Daniel  occupied,  therefore,  the  most 
painful  and  perplexing  of  all  positions — an  honest  prime  minister 
presiding  over  a  dishonest,  an  antichristian,  and  an  unmanageahle 
cabinet.  They  could  find,  however,  no  fault  or  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  him,  so  they  determined,  in  their  envy  and  ma- 
lignity, to  create  one.  They  endeavoured  to  find  out  that  his 
policy  was  had — that  he  had  been  open  to  bribery — that  he  was 
unfaithful,  but  they  did  not,  and  could  not,  succeed ',  they  could 
find  none  occasion  of  fault,  inasmuch  as  he  was  faithful  in  all 
things.  He  was  a  perfect  phenomenon  in  an  Eastern  court, 
where  bribery  ever  has  been,  and  is,  to  this  day,  universal;  and 
where  a  bribe  can  blind  the  eye  of  justice,  or  shut  the  mouth 
of  truth,  or  promote  or  put  down,  just  as  the  man  in  power 
thinks  expedient,  or  most  conducive  to  his  own  interests.  They 
found  that  Daniel,  however,  was  faithful,  neither  was  there  any 
error  or  fault  found  in  him.  Why,  then,  did  they  so  dislike 
him?  why  hate  this  good  man?  Plato  asserted,  that  if  Truth 
were  to  come  down  from  heaven,  and  display  itself  in  all  its 
glory  upon  earth,  all  men  would  instantly  fall  down  and  wor- 
ship it.  What  Plato  stated  as  an  hypothesis,  inspired  history 
records  to  have  been  a  lamentable  miscalculation  on  his  part. 
Truth  came  down  from  the  skies — appeared  upon  the  world 
in  untainted  glory,  beauty,  and  perfection;  neither  hell  nor  earth 
was  able  to  detect  a  flaw  in  it;  but  so  false  proved  the  prophecy 
of  the  learned  and  accomplished  philosopher,  that  the  world  rose 
np  against  it,  and  shouted  in  a  voice  of  thunder — ''  Away 
with  him,  away  with  him !  crucify  him,  crucify  him !  Not  this 
man,  but  Barabbas.''  If  Plato  had  known  what  the  child  in 
our  Sunday  school  or  ragged  school  is  now  being  taught,  that 
"  the  heart  of  man  is  enmity  against  God,^^  he  would  not  have 
uttered  any  such  prediction. 

What  was  the   fault  his  cabinet  urged  against   the    detested 

'  Daniel  ?     First,  he  was  a  comparatively  young  man,  while  many 

<  of   these  princes  and  counsellors  were  probtibly  aged  men  :    he 

was  a  junior  promoted  over  the  heads  of  his  seniors;  this  was 

an  old  offence,  and  an    oifence  that  is  felt    in  every  profession. 

But  when    the   junior  displays    intellect,  genius,  talent,  discre- 


THE  PPtDIE  MINISTER.  199 

tion,  prudence,  heroism,  devotedness,  such  as  his  seniors  do  not 
disphiy,  all  will  soon  learn  to  forget  that  he  is  young,  and  to 
feel  that  it  is  not  years,  but  excellence,  that  constitutes  the  re- 
quisite to  command  the  veneration  of  mankind.  Probably  they 
also  hated  and  envied  him  because  he  was  a  Jew.  Religious 
prejudices  are  not  extinct  even  amid  the  light  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  We  do  not  like  to  see  one  promoted  who  is  not  of 
our  sect;  we  are  offended  if  one  of  a  rival  party  is  advanced 
to  power.  And  these  men  were  worshippers  of  Bel:  they  as- 
sembled in  the  temple  of  Bel  for  worship,  and  they  were  indig- 
nant that  a  worshipper  of  Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  captive  and 
detested  Jew,  should  be  advanced  to  the  highest  post  of  honour 
and  authority  in  that  great  empire.  And  partly,  perhaps,  they 
hated  and  envied  him,  because  he  was  a  stranger  and  a  captive. 
Daniel  was  one  of  the  spoils  of  war — a  slave  ;  and  though  of 
royal  family,  he  was  held  as  a  captive  in  the  midst  of  Babylon ; 
and  the  haughty  princes  of  that  mighty  monarch  could  not  endure 
the  insult  of  a  Hebrew  slave  being  made  chief  ruler  over  all 
of  them.  But  the  grand  reason,  in  which  they  all  concurred, 
no  doubt  was,  that  Daniel's  integrity  stood  in  the  way  of  their 
enrichment.  He  would  not  take  the  bribes  which  they  were 
accustomed  to  receive ;  he  did  not  approve  of  cheating,  which 
they  thought  was  canonical,  and  had  made  almost  legal;  they 
loved  the  wages  of  unrighteousness,  while  he  hated  them;  and, 
like  bold,  bad  men,  they  detested  him,  and  determined  on  his 
destruction.  The  great  difl&culty  was,  where  to  obtain  a  pre-/ 
text  for  getting  rid  of  him.  They  could  find  none  whatever  in 
his  management  of  the  kingdom :  he  dispensed  his  patronage 
with  perfect  justice;  he  redressed  the  wrongs  that  were  submitted 
to  him  with  the  greatest  impartiality;  he  gave  such  good  counsel 
to  his  gracious  sovereign,  that  all  that  that  sovereign  did  prospered. 
They  could  fi.nd  nothing  against  the  character  of  Daniel  as 
touching  the  kingdom  over  which  he  presided  with  such  dignity 
and  justice,  and  with  so  remarkable  success.  But  they  saw ! 
that  be  had  a  different  religion;  and  if  they  could  not  impeach 
him  as  a  prime  minister,  they  might  assail  him  through  the 
dogmas  of  his  creed  as  a  Jew.  They  proceeded  with  great  skill 
and  artifice,  and  formed  the  scheme   recorded    in  verses    G-9  : 


200  Pr.OPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

^^  The  presidents  of  the  kingdom,  the  governors,  and  the  princes,  the 
counsellors,  and  the  captains,  have  consulted  to  establish  a  royal 
statute,  and  to  make  a  firm  decree,  that  whosoever  shall  ask  a 
petition  of  any  God  or  man  for  thirty  days,  save  of  thee,  0  king, 
he  shall  be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions.  Now,  0  king,  establish  the 
decree,  and  sign  the  writing,  that  it  be  not  changed,  according 
to  the  law  of  the  Modes  and  Persians,  which  altereth  not. 
Wherefore  king  Darius  signed  the  writing  and  the  decree." 

The  quiet  self-possession  of  Daniel  on  this  occasion  was  com- 
plete. "Now,  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was  signed, 
he  went  into  his  house  ;  and  his  windows  being  open  in  his 
chamber  toward  Jerusalem,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees  three 
times  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his  God,  as 
he  did  aforetime."  We  are  not  to  be  the  slaves  of  circumstance, 
but  circumstances  are  to  be  slaves  to  us.  I  am  not  to  do  wrong 
because  circumstances  urge  me  to  do  so;  but  I  am  to  do  right 
in  the  face  of  all  danger,  and  in  spite  of  all  threats.  We  have 
continually,  in  the  army  and  in  the  navy,  instances  of  military  self- 
possession  the  most  remarkable,  showing  how  even  the  natural  man 
may  be  drilled  into  a  state  of  discipline,  subordination,  and  obedience 
to  a  human  leader,  that  will  make  him  fearless  amid  all  the  ele- 
ments of  terror  and  of  death.  I  recollect  reading,  that  when  Mar- 
shal Massena  was  marching  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  Napoleon's 
victorious  troops,  through  the  gorge  of  the  Cardihell,  in  the  iVlps, 
a  vast  avalanche  descended  from  the  heights  above,  and  swept  into 
the  valley  below  some  hundreds  of  his  soldiers;  and  on  the  very 
ridge  of  the  snow  that  was  swept  into  the  ravine  beneath,  was  a 
drummer-boy,  who,  undisturbed  amid  the  peril,  continued  beating 
the  march  he  had  commenced  before  the  avalanche  fell,  until  every 
soldier  had  passed  through  the  gorge ;  this  was  his  own  funeral 
march  :  he  then  sank  down  to  die — an  instance  of  the  efiective 
discipline  which  then  prevailed  in  the  French  army.  One  of  Na- 
poleon's greatest  marshals  never  felt  himself  perfectly  calm  and 
self-possessed  till  the  dead  fell  in  thousands  round  him,  and  the 
tide  of  battle  seemed  rolling  against  him ; — showing  how  human 
nature,  in  circumstances  of  great  trial,  may  feel  great  calmness, 
and  do  its  duty  with  unshaken  and  unflinching  nerve.  But  if 
discipline  can  do  this,  Christianity  can  do  more.     It  could  make 


T[IE    PllBlE    MINISTER.  201 

Daniel  calm  in  tlie  prospect  of  certain  death;  it  could  make  Poly- 
carp  regard  the  flames  only  as  a  chariot  tbat  wafted  him  to  glory  ; 
it  could  make  the  apostles  feel  bonds,  imprisonment,  and  death, 
to  be  not  calamities,  but  blessings,  because  they  took  them  from 
scenes  of  suffering  and  conveyed  them  to  the  realms  of  glory.  A 
Christian  has  ever  felt — and  in  proportion  to  the  depth  and  force 
of  his  Christianity  he  ever  will  feel — that  "  the  work  of  righteous- 
ness shall  be  peace,  and  the  effect  of  righteousness  quietness,  and 
assurance  for  ever."  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose 
mind  is  stayed  on  thee."  And  I  believe  that  if  our  Christian  prin- 
ciple were  what  it  should  be,  and  what  we  are  responsible  for  its  being, 
though  the  mountains  were  cast  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and 
though  the  earth  should  shake  and  vibrate  with  the  swelling  thereof, 
— though  all  things  should  seem  to  prognosticate  the  return  of  chaos, 
ruin,  and  destruction, — a  Christian  would  hear  and  accept,  sounding 
from  his  Father's  lips,  those  beautiful  and  soothing  accents,  '^  Be 
still,  and  know  that  I  am  God."     So  Daniel  learned  and  felt. 

Would  that  our  confidence  in  God  were  deeper  than  it  is !     We 
should  not  then  be  in  the  depths  to-day  and  in  the  heights  to- 
morrow; we  should  not  be  so  often  surprised,  alarmed  at  this,  and 
afraid  of  that.     Do  not  think,  my  dear  friends,  that  you  and  I  are 
indispensable  to  the  government  of  God.     God  governs ;  he  controls    ' 
the  universe  and  all  its  movements;  and  he  is  working  out  his  own    f 
bright  and  beneficent  designs,  sometimes  with  us,  as  often  without    ■ 
us,  and  occasionally  in  spite  of  us.     Have  confidence  in  God,  confi- 
dence in  our  Father's  love,  confidence  in  his  wisdom — a  deep  and 
indestructible  persuasion  that  ^^  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God,  and  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose." 

But  in  lookins;  at  the  manner  in  which  Daniel  discharo;ed  his 
duty,  there  seems  at  first  sight  to  be  in  it  something  like  ostenta- 
tion, or  something,  at  least,  rather  inexplicable  as  to  its  absolute 
necessity,  in  the  attitude  which  he  assumed.  It  is  stated,  that 
Ms  windoics  being  open,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees,  in  his  cham- 
ber, toward  Jerusalem,  and  prayed  in  that  direction.  What  was 
meant  by  his  ihu'S, '^^iY^ymg  toicard  Jcniwleni  f'  We  have  it 
explained  in  the  prayer  of  Solomon,  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple, 
in  which  he  says,  "If  they,"  thy  people,  "sin  against  thee,  (for 
there  is  no  man  that  sinneth  not,)  and  thou  be  angry  with  them, 


202  PROrilETIC    STUDIES. 

and  deliver  tliem  to  the  enemy,  so  that  they  carry  them  away  cap- 
tives unto  the  land  of  the  enemy  far  or  near :  yet  if  they  shall 
bethink  themselves  in  the  land  whither  they  were  carried  captives, 
and  repent,  and  make  supplication  unto  thee  in  the  land  of  them 
that  carried  them  captives,  saying,  We  have  sinned,  and  have  done 
perversely,  we  have  committed  wickedness ;  and  so  return  unto 
thee  with  all  their  heart,  and  with  all  their  soul,  in  the  land  of 
their  enemies,  which  led  them  away  captive,  and  pray  unto  thee 
toward  their  land,  which  thou  gavest  unto  their  fathers,  the  city 
which  thou  hast  chosen,  and  the  house  which  I  have  built  for  thy 
name :  then  hear  thou  their  prayer  and  their  supplication  in 
heaven  thy  dwelling-place,  and  maintain  their  cause." 

Hence  every  pious  Jew,  when  he  prayed,  "kneeled  upon  his 
knees,"  or  stood,  the  other  attitude  of  prayer,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Jews;  and,  wherever  he  was,  directed  his  face  invariably 
toward  Jerusalem.  The  reason  why  the  Jew  did  so,  was  that 
the  temple  and  the  furniture  within  it  constituted  the  only  type 
that  he  had  of  Jesus,  the  great  Mediator  between  heaven  and 
earth.  He  rested  his  eye  upon  the  significant  sign  of  the  only 
Mediator  every  time  he  prayed,  and  did  in  that  dispensation,  by  a 
figure,  what  we  in  this  dispensation  do  in  fact — prayed  in  the 
name,  leaning  on  the  intercession,  trusting  to  the  mediation  of 
Jesus.  But  if  you  were  to  argue,  as  certain  very  superstitious 
persons  do  argue,  that  because  the  Jews  did  so  in  the  days  of  Levi 
or  Solomon,  therefore  we,  too,  when  we  pray,  ought  to  turn  our 
faces  toward  the  east ;  or,  if  you  were  to  contend  that  when  we 
build  churches  we  should  build  them  with  their  chancels,  or  what 
some  ignorantly  term  their  altars,  toward  the  east,  you  would  be 
just  doing  precisely  what  the  Gralatians  did  3  letting  go  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  hath  made  you  free :  there  would  be  in  that  fact 
a  reflux  to  Judaism.  You  are  thereby  displacing  Christ,  the  only 
IMediator,  and  substituting  an  exhausted  type,  a  shrivelled  symbol, 
in  the  room  of  him  who  is  its  substance,  its  reality,  and  its  end. 
The  law  of  the  worship  of  the  Jew  was,  "  Pray  with  the  face 
toward  Jerusalem  f  the  great  law  of  the  worship  of  the  Christian 
is,  "Pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus."  What  constituted  the  church 
with  the  Jew  was,  his  having  that  very  temple,  those  very  stones, 
that  grand  altar,    those   overshadowing  cherubim,   those   bright 


THE    PRIIME   MINSTER.  203 

beams  of  the  ineffable  glory ;  but  wliat  constitutes  our  church  is, 
not  dead  stones,  but  living  ones  ]  not  the  glory  that  is  visible  and 
palpable,  but  that  bright  glory  which  consists  of  the  minghng 
beams  of  mercy  and  truth  that  have  met  together — righteousness 
and  peace  that  have  kissed  each  other.  And  hence  there  is  a 
Christian  church,  and  a  true  and  acceptable  worship,  wherever,  on 
the  sea-shore  or  on  the  mountain-side;  on  the  tessellated  pavement 
or  in  the  public  highway ;  within  the  communion  rail,  in  the 
pulpit,  or  in  the  pew ;  on  the  deck,  in  the  city,  in  the  field  ;  in  the 
deepest  mine  to  which  the  miner  can  descend,  and  on  the  loftiest 
pinnacle  to  which  the  Alpine  herdsman  can  climb ;  wherever 
there  are  two  or  three  met  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  there  is  a  temple 
more  glorious  than  that  of  Jerusalem;  there  is  a  temple  of  the 
Holy  Grhost,  in  which  Grod  dwells,  and  where  all  his  glory  is 
manifested  in  another  way  than  that  in  which  he  manifests  it  to 
the  world. 

We  see  then  the  reason  why  Daniel  prayed,  looking  toward 
the  east.  But  it  certainly  does,  at  first  sight,  appear  somewhat 
difficult  to  reconcile  his  conduct,  in  having  his  window  open,  with 
the  idea  that  there  was  nothing  in  what  Daniel  did  resembling 
pride,  ostentation,  or  the  needless  thrusting  forward  of  his  custom 
in  the  face  of  the  heathen  nation  among  whom  he  dwelt.  It  is  best 
explained  by  the  fact,  that  the  Jews'  houses  were  built  with  flat 
roofs,  and  on  the  top  of  each  flat-roofed  house  there  was  what  is 
called  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  '^an  upper  room,"  not  corre- 
sponding to  our  garret,  but  a  sort  of  chamber  built  upon  the  flat 
roof,  in  which  the  pious  Jew  sequestered  himself  from  the  world, 
read  the  law,  prayed,  and  held  communion  with  God.  And  in  the 
Septuagint  translation  of  this  very  book — i.  e.  the  translation  from 
the  Hebrew  into  G-reek,  executed  by  the  Alexandrian  Jews  three 
hundred  years  prior  to  the  birth  of  Christ — the  word  that  is  used 
for  "his  chamber"  means,  literally,  "he  retired  h-zolq  v~tp6oiq^'' 
the  very  word  that  is  used  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  denote 
the  place  in  which  the  Christians  met  at  Pentecost,  and  where 
they  where  accustomed  to  worship  God.  And  from  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  it  is  evident  that  the  upper  room  was  the  ordinary 
place,  the  most  sacred  and  the  most  sequestered  of  all  the  rooms  in 
the  house,  whither  the  Jew  betook  himself  for  prayer.     And 


204  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

when  Daniel  therefore  retired  to  his  upper  room,  with  the  windows 
open  toward  Jerusalem  it  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  displaying  his 
religious  firmness,  or  for  the  purpose  of  defying  those  whom  he 
knew  to  have  conspired  against  his  life,  but  he  did  that  which,  he 
had  always  been  accustomed  to  do, — prayed  with  his  face  toward 
Jerusalem,  and  seeking  the  blessing  and  the  presence  of  his  Grod. 
It  is  thus  in  this  simple  fact  thcD,  and  in  this  beautiful  habit,  that 
you  have  a  chapter  of  the  inner  life  of  Daniel,  the  prime  minister 
of  Darius  the  king  of  Persia.  His  inner  life  was  fed  by  prayer ; 
his  outer  life  was  characterized  by  integrity,  faithfulness,  and 
justice.  It  was  his  home  habits  that  made  his  court  habits  so  beau- 
tiful, and  just,  and  true  ;  it  was  his  private  nearness  to  God  that 
sustained  and  elevated  his  public  consistency  before  men.  I  hope 
there  are  such  statesmen  still  who  preface  their  policy  by  their  com- 
munion with  God.  Would  it  not  be  the  loftiest  dignity,  were  the 
highest  in  the  land  to  prostrate  themselves  before  the  King  of 
kings,  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  not  seek  to  devise,  to 
meditate,  to  plan,till  fii'st  there  had  been  implored  an  abundant  bless- 
ing from  Him,  without  whom  nothing  is  strong,  nothing  is  wise, 
nothing  is  holy,  and  nothing  can  prosper.  An  hour  in  "  the  upper 
room,''  in  communion  with  God,  before  spending  many  hours  in 
the  House  of  Lords  or  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  transacting 
the  business  of  the  empire,  is  a  recommendation  worth  all  the 
political  qualifications  that  a  man  can  have.  Depend  upon  it 
that  God  will  not  bless  in  politicians  what  he  does  not  bless  in 
private  men, — the  habit  of  trying  to  work  the  world  without 
God.  Depend  upon  it,  he  will  not  prosper  measures  in  the  high 
places  of  the  earth  which  he  will  not  prosper  in  the  humble  places 
of  the  earth,  when  those  measures  are  concerted  and  attempted 
without  recognising  him.  It  should  be  written  on  the  heads  of 
princes,  on  palaces,  and  cabinets,  "By  me  kings  reign  and  princes 
decree  justice.'' 

And  is  it  not  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  duty,  to  have  prayer?  I 
need  not  dwell  upon  the  nature  of  prayer ;  for  I  trust  there  is  not 
a  Christian  in  this  assembly  who  knows  not  what  it  is.  It  is  not 
a  thing  to  be  taught :  it  is  the  deepest  instinct  of  humanity.  It 
is,  in  my  judgment,  just  as  natural  to  pray  as  it  is  to  breathe. 
And  what  the  Spirit  teaches — without  whose  teaching  prayer  will 


THE   PRIME   MINISTER.  205 

not  be  the  incense  that  rises  to  heaven — is  to  pray  for  things  that 
are  truly  good,  in  the  name  of  him  through  whom  those  things 
are  given;  and  in  every  Christian's  heart  such  prayer  is  an  irre- 
pressible instinct.  He  cannot  live  without  it,  he  cannot  move 
without  it.  He  feels  that  a  prayerless  man  is  a  graceless  man ; 
and  that  the  enterprise  he  commences  without  asking  God  to  bless 
it,  is  one  in  which  he  can  expect  no  great  success.  God  asks  the 
tribute  of  your  acknowledgment  of  him,  and  he  will  give  you  all 
the  blessings  of  success ;  "  for  whatsoever  such  an  one  doeth  shall 
prosper.'^  Pray  in  your  closets;  pray  in  the  house  of  business; 
pray  when  you  are  walking  upon  the  highway.  Shut  your  doors ; 
sound  not  the  trumpet ;  make  no  display ;  but  lift  the  heart 
daily — three  times  a  day  if  you  like — at  stated  hours  and  in 
stated  places,  if  you  like,  for  these  remind  you  of  the  habit ;  but 
"  pray.''  Pray  that  God  would  give  you  grace  for  each  day,  (for 
there  is  only  promise  for  the  day,)  that  he  will  give  you  bread 
for  each  day  :  that  he  will  give  you  ''  forgiveness  of  your  sins, 
and  an  inheritance  among  all  them  that  arc  sanctified."  Great 
soldiers  of  our  country,  the  great  Washington  of  America  prayed 
upon  the  field  of  battle ;  prayed  under  that  stern  and  terrible  ne- 
cessity of  nations  where  men  made  in  the  image  of  God  take  part 
in  the  dire  shock  of  battle — prayed  at  such  a  crisis,  that  the  God 
of  justice  would  decide  the  conflict.  Let  us  pray  in  approaching 
a  communion-table,  in  approaching  the  judgment-seat  at  which 
we  must  appear ;  knowing  that  whatsoever  we  shall  ask  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  believing,  he  will  give  it  us.  Pray,  and  you  will 
prosper  upon  earth ;  pray,  and  you  will  find  your  prayers  on  earth 
lost  in  the  praises  of  eternity,  through  Jesus  Christ. 


18 


20G 


LECTURE  XV. 

DANIEL   IN    THE   DEN    OF   LIONS. 

"  Then  the  king  commanded,  and  they  brought  Daniel,  and  cast  him  into  the 
den  of  lions.  Now  the  king  spake  and  said  unto  Daniel,  Thy  God  whom  thou 
servest  continually,  he  will  deliver  thee." — Daniel  vi.  16. 

Looking  at  tlie  whole  treatment  and  experience  of  Daniel,  one 
cannot  but  feel  liow  truly  our  Lord  spoke,  when  he  said,  "  In  the 
world  ye  shall  have  tribulation.'^  It  needs  but  a  very  limited  ac- 
quaintance with  the  history  of  the  people  of  God,  to  see  that  the 
most  illustrious  and  the  most  distinguished  of  them  have  been  the 
victims  of  the  most  continuous  and  unmerited  suffering.  They 
have  been  stoned,  they  have  been  sawn  asunder,  they  have  been 
tempted,  they  have  been  slain  with  the  sword :  they  have  wan- 
dered in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth, 
being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented — although  the  world  was  not 
worthy  of  them.  And  yet  through  that  faith  which  overcame 
the  world,  "  they  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,"  says  the  apostle, 
alluding  to  the  case  of  Daniel,  ''and  c(uenched  the  violence  of 
fire,''  alluding  to  the  case  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego. 
When  the  world  sees  Christians,  like  Daniel,  thus  condemned, 
set  apart  for  punishment  and  inevitable  death,  it  exclaims,  "  God 
hath  forgotten  him  :  he  trusted  in  God  that  he  would  deliver 
him;  let  Him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  hath  pleasure  in  Him.'^ 
But  amid  all  the  taunts  of  the  world,  and  the  revilings  of  the 
worldly  wise,  the  child  of  God  can  hear,  notwithstanding  the 
clamour  of  a  thousand  tongues,  the  still  small  voice,  the  voice  of 
his  Father  in  the  skies,  sounding  in  his  heart,  unspent  by  the 
/  distance  through  which  it  passes  in  its  transit,  and  saying,  ''I  will 
'^  never  leave  thee,  I  will  never  forsake  thee.  A  mother  may  for- 
get her  infant,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son 
of  her  womb,  yet  will  not  I  forget  thee."  And  thus,  in  spite  of 
the  world's  clamour,  and  because  he  hears  his  Father's  voice,  the 


DANIEL   IN   THE   DEN   OF   LIONS.  207 

Christian  enjoys  in  tlic  world  peace,  quietness,  and  assurance  for 
ever ;  and  when  he  is  phiced  in  the  lion's  den  with  Daniel,  or 
walks  amid  the  flames  of  the  burning  fiery  furnace  with  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abed-nego ;  whether  he  is  crucified  with  Peter,  or 
cast  to  the  wild  beasts  with  Paul,  he  can  begin,  in  the  agonies  of 
death,  the  pa3an  of  a  noble  victory — "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
life,  nor  death,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  me  from  the  love  of 
God  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord/' 

I  need  not  say  that  when  Daniel  was  thus  condemned  by  the 
king — and  condemned  by  the  king  who  was  ensnared  by  the  sub- 
tlet}^  and  wiles  of  these  wicked  men — he  expected  death,  and  that 
death  a  very  terrible  one.  Death  is  not  a  natural  thing :  it  is 
the  most  horrible  and  unnatural  of  all  things.  Man  was  never 
made  to  die  :  it  was  never  God's  design  that  he  should  die ;  he 
was  made  instinct  with  all  the  yearnings,  and  arrayed  with  all 
the  powers  of  endless  life.  And  when  man  shrinks  from  death, 
there  is  nothing  unchristian  in  it.  Paul  did  not  desire  death  for 
its  own  sake,  when  he  said,  ''  I  desire  to  be  unclothed,"  or,  '^  I 
desire  to  depart,"  but  he  was  willing  to  meet  the  foe  for  the 
sake  of  the  victory ;  he  was  willing  to  pass  through  the  swelling 
of  a  dark  and  stormy  sea  because  of  the  land  of  beauty  and  of 
blessedness  that  stretched  beyond  it.  Nature  shrinks  from  death ; 
but  Christian  nature,  even  in  its  agonies,  can  exclaim,  ^^0  death, 
where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  Thanks  be 
unto  God  that  giveth  us  the  victory  through  Jesus  Christ."  But 
when  the  Christian  dies,  it  is  not  the  Christian  himself,  but 
death  that  dies.  When  the  Christian  dies,  he  does  not  cease 
to  be.  "When  the  loved,  the  near,  and  the  dear  have  ceased 
to  communicate  with  us — when  the  eye  that  looked  upon  us,  and 
the  lips  that  breathed  her  name,  are  closed,  he  has  not  ceased  to 
be.  He  has  only  begun  to  be  as  he  never  was  before.  Death  to 
the  Christian  is  not  even  a  momentary  suspension  of  the  conti- 
nuity of  life  :  it  is  only  the  removal  of  the  restrictions  and  the 
trammels  of  this  life  :  it  is  the  Levite  laying  aside  the  coarse  gar- 
ment in  which  he  ministered  as  a  Levite  in  the  outer  temple,  and 
putting  on  the  sacerdotal  and  coronation  robes  in  which  he  shall 


208  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

minister  as  a  priest  and  a  king  in  tlie  inner  temple  of  God  liis 
Father.  And  in  such  a  case — in  the  case  of  Daniel — if  he  had 
died  when  placed  amid  the  ravenous  wild  beasts,  death  would  have 
been  but  the  precursor  of  truly  living ;  the  lions'  den  would  have 
become,  in  this  case,  only  the  vestibule  of  glory ;  the  flame  that 
consumes  the  martyr's  flesh  is  the  chariot  that  wafts  his  soul  to 
immortality  and  joy  ',  and  the  evening  twilight  of  this  world  does 
not  close  upon  the  eye  of  that  happy  spirit  till  the  morning  twi- 
light of  yon  world  bursts  upon  it  with  a  briglitness  of  eternal  day. 
Thus  we  like  not  to  leave  the  old  house,  every  nook  and  cranny 
of  which  is  dear  to  us ;  but  if  we  could  only  fix  our  hearts  more 
upon  the  house  not  made  with  hands — if  we  could  think  less  of 
all  that  is  seen,  and  feel  more  of  the  magnificence  and  glory  of 
the  unseen  that  awaits  us,  we  should  rather  long  to  depart,  than 
desire  to  remain,  that  we  might  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better. 
The  language  here  addressed  by  Darius  to  Daniel,  is  language 
which  proves,  I  think,  when  taken  in  connection  with  other  ex- 
pressions of  the  same  monarch,  that  King  Darius  was  an  altered 
man — that  something  transpired  in  the  life,  and  was  heard  in 
the  language  of  Daniel,  which  led  the  sovereign  to  think,  and, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  think  savingly.  He  sought  to  save 
Daniel,  and  he  could  not.  We  must  not  imagine  that  kings,  be- 
cause they  may  be  called  absolute,  are  really  practically  so.  Nay, 
it  is  the  monarcli  of  all  who  is  often  the  greatest  servant  of  ail ; 
and  he  who  occupies  the  loftiest  position,  and  seems  to  us  to  have 
only  to  speak  and  it  shall  be  done,  is  often  the  man  who  is  least 
able  to  do  what  he  pleases  to  those  that  are  beneath  him.  Darius 
was  unable  to  reverse  his  sentence ;  but  he  said  to  Daniel,  and 
said  it  plainly  not  in  scorn,  not  in  bitterness,  but  as  a  prophecy — 
partly  a  prophecy,  partly  a  prayer — "The  God  whom  thou  servest 
continually,  he  will  deliver  thee.'^  It  is  plain,  from  this,  that 
the  king  had  been  brought  to  the '  knowledge  of  the  true  God. 
And,  connected  with  the  last  verse  of  this  chapter,  whicli  con- 
tains so  remarkable  a  decree,  it  is  a  j)lain  proof  that  he  had 
learned  and  felt  the  truth  which  he  here  speaks  not  in  scorn,  but 
in  solemn  and  painful  earnestness.  And  what  must  have  been 
the  cause,  next  to  the  grace  of  God,  of  the  conversion  of  the 
monarcli  ?     I  have  no  doubt  it  was  the  meekness,  the  magnani- 


DANIEL   IN   THE   DEN   OF   LIONS.  209 

mity,  the  gentleness,  the  patience,  the  submission  of  Daniel,  a 
prisoner  chained  and  sentenced  to  a  terrible  death,  connected  and 
associated  with  the  lessons  that  Daniel  spoke,  and  the  prayers 
that  Daniel  oflered,  and  the  religion  of  which  Daniel  was  the  con- 
sistent exponent  and  the  living  illustration.  And  what  does  this 
teach  us,  my  dear  friends  ? — That  the  means  of  conversion  to 
others  are  not  only  the  truths  that  Christians  speak,  but  the  lives 
that  Christians  lead,  and  the  death  that  Christians  die.  Sick- 
beds have  exceeded  pulpits  in  persuasive  eloquence,  and  dying 
martyrs  have  made  conversions  that  living  ministers  have  never 
been  honoured  with.  No  Christian  lives  to  himself,  no  Christian 
dies  to  himself;  and  wherever  a  Christian  is,  there  is  an  element 
of  power  wielded  for  God.  In  the  silent  prison,  and  in  the  In- 
quisitor's dungeon,  and  in  the  Papal  fires,  the  sufferers  have  all 
emitted  testimony  for  Grod,  and  proved  to  history  and  to  mankind 
that  God  does  not  cease  to  reign  when  his  children  are  persecuted, 
and  that  the  truth  does  not  die  with  her  martyrs  ',  rather  that 
Christianity  has  received  a  greater  impulse,  and  has  made  greater 
progress  by  the  opposition  of  her  foes,  than  by  the  eloquence  and 
advocacy  of  her  friends. 

But  the  words  are  not  only  expressive  of  the  pity  of  the  man, 
but  they  are,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  an  unconscious  pro- 
phecy. God  has  often  made  use  of  men  who  were  not  Christiaos, 
as  well  as  of  those  who  were,  to  predict  truths  of  which  they 
themselves  knew  not  the  glory.  Thus  we  read  in  the  Gospel  of 
John,  that  Caiaphas,  being  high-priest  that  year,  "  gave  counsel 
to  the  Jews,  that  it  was  expedient  that  some  one  should  die  for 
the  people."  Thus  God  made  Caiaphas  the  trumpet  of  a  glorious 
prophecy,  just  as  before  he  made  Cyrus  the  battle-axe  by  which 
he  chastised  the  enemies  of  his  people.  God  thus  teaches  man, 
(for  man  needs  to  know  what  a  very  little  creature  he  is  in  His 
sight,)  and  he  teaches  Christians,  what  Christians  more  and  more 
feel,  that  all  things  are  under  the  power  and  control  of  Him  who 
holds  the  reins  and  sways  the  sceptre  of  the  universe. 

We  read  that  Daniel  was  dropped  into  the  lions'  den,  as  a  pebi 
ble  is  dropped  into  the  silent  sea,  apparently  to  be  forgotten  for 
ever,  and  the  world  seemed  to  have  its  way,  and  the  persecutors 
of  the  prophet  to  have  had  their  will.     But  man's  thoughts  arc 


210  rROPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

not  God's  thoughts,  nor  God's  ways  man's  ways.  The  persecu- 
tors of  Daniel,  when  they  placed  him  in  that  den,  and  put  that 
heavy  stone  over  him,  and  sealed  it  down,  believed  that  no  voice 
could  rise  from  its  depths  to  excite  sympathy,  and  that  no  cry 
could  come  from  the  martyred  prophet  to  arouse  the  popular  in- 
dignation ;  and  still  more,  that  no  trace  of  the  foul  murder  they  had 
endeavoured  to  perpetrate,  could  remain  to  witness  against  them. 

They  returned  to  their  homes ;  and  never  did  they  drink  so 
freely,  or  sing  so  merrily,  as  when  they  recollected  how  successful 
they  had  been  in  putting  out  of  their  way  a  man  who  would  not 
connive  at  dishonesty :  that  feared  God,  and  rather  than  compro- 
mise his  allegiance  to  his  God,  was  willing  to  live  poor,  and  to 
die  a  martyr.  They  rejoiced,  and  congratulated  each  other  that 
the  witness  who  prophesied  against  them  was  at  last  disposed  of. 

As  for  the  poor  king,  he  went  home,  still  giving  evidence  that 
his  heart  had  undergone  a  change,  filled  with  remorse  for  having 
signed  the  fatal  decree,  and  not  knowing  how  to  retrieve  or  to  re- 
trace his  steps.  When  conscience  echoes  in  the  depths  of  the 
heart,  it  will  cause  the  loins  of  the  lord  of  Christendom  to  trem- 
ble. It  is  not  nerve  that  is  bravest,  it  is  a  conscience  full  of  the 
peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding.  But  when  conscience 
is  vexed  with  a  sense  of  sin,  there  can  be  no  heroism,  there  can 
be  no  presence  of  mind,  there  can  be  no  peace.  All  the  opiates 
that  physicians  can  prescribe  will  not  give  sleep  unless  God  is 
pleased  by  a  conscience  cleansed  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  give  his 
belove'd  sleep.  And  when  there  is  sin  in  the  conscience,  what 
awful,  what  mysterious  power  it  has  !  It  will  pierce  the  armed 
battalion,  it  will  enter  within  the  thickest  walls  of  the  palace,  it 
will  invade  the  secret  chambers  of  royalty,  it  will  defy  all  opiates, 
it  will  hush  all  music;  and  though  all  sounds  should  be  suppress- 
ed outside,  and  all  books  be  shut,  and  all  testimonies  be  silenced, 
that  conscience  grieved,  wronged,  offended,  acting  as  the  echo  and 
the  oracle  of  God,  will  reason,  even  in  the  royal  bosom,  of  '^right- 
eousness and  temperance  and  judgment  to  come,"  and  make  the 
possessor  of  it  tremble,  and  his  knees  smite  against  each  other, 
and  be  ill  at  ease. 

Early  next  morning  the  sleepless  monarch  rushes  with  the  first 
rays  of  the  rising  sun  to  the  den,  and,  as  he  then  thought,  the 


DANIEL    IN    THE    DEN    OF    LIONS.  211 

grave  of  tbe  murdered  prophet ;  and  half  hoping,  half  despairing, 
rather  as  the  expression  of  his  deep  commiseration  than  as  the 
expression  of  any  hope,  he  looked  into  the  den  and  asked  if  the 
prophet  was  alive ;  and  Daniel,  with  that  calmness  which  a  con- 
science at  peace  can  alone  impart,  with  that  supreme  self-posses- 
sion which  Christian  principle  can  alone  create,  with  that  loyalty 
to  his  king  which  Christians  ever  have  expressed,  called  out, 
'^Grod  save  the  king/'  And  his  second  accents  are  giving  glory 
to  Him  who  had  sent  his  angel  to  shut  the  lions'  mouths  and  save 
him  from  so  terrible  and  cruel  a  death.  God  is  everywhere.  You\ 
cannot  banish  a  saint  from  God.  You  may  banish  him  from  his 
home,  or  from  his  country;  you  may  bury  him  in  the  cave,  you 
may  seal  him  in  the  lions'  den;  you  may  cast  him  into  the 
depths  of  the  sullen  and  unsounded  sea ;  but  you  cannot  banish 
him  from  his  God.  On  the  top  of  ancient  Ararat,  when  it  was 
surrounded  by  its  first  rainbow  coronal,  God  saw,  pitied,  and 
blessed  his  people.  In  the  depths  of  the  lions'  den,  and  among 
the  beasts  ravenous  with  hunger,  God  was  present,  and  heard  his 
praying  prophet.  In  the  silent  catacombs  of  Rome ;  amid  the 
sands  of  the  untrodden  desert,  or  on  the  waves  of  the  great  and 
silent  sea;  on  the  heights,  wherever  man  has  soared;  in  the 
depths,  wherever  man  has  descended ;  there,  if  there  be  a  Chris- 
tian heart,  will  be  found  a  present  help,  a  Christian's  God.  How 
blessed  is  this  thought  I  the  poor  Roman  Catholic  cannot  have 
his  God  unless  he  has  his  consecrated  altar ;  he  cannot  obtain 
absolution  unless  he  has  access  to  his  priest ;  he  cannot  have  his 
sacrifice  for  forgiveness  unless  he  has  his  priest,  altar,  and  wafer. 
But  the  Christian— let  him  be  the  miner  in  the  depths  of  the 
dark  mines  of  Northumberland,  has  there  his  priest,  his  altar, 
and  his  sacrifice,  even  Jesus ;  or  let  him  be  placed  on  the  loftiest 
pinnacle  to  which  Alpine  herdsman  can  climb,  there  he  finds  a 
temple,  a  sacrifice,  and  an  altar,  even  Jesus.  If  he  ascend  into 
heaven,  he  is  there ;  if  he  descend  into  the  grave,  he  is  there ; 
if  he  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  go  down  into  the  depths 
of  the  sea,  even  there  is  his  Lord  and  Saviour  too.  God's  eye 
can  pierce  all  darkness;  God's  heart  can  pity  his  captive  any- 
where, and  God's  hand  can  help  him  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  So 
Daniel  felt,  and  so  thousands  of  God's  saints  have  felt  it  too. 


212  rROPIIETlC   STUDIES. 

When  tlie  king  found  tlie  captive  alive^  lie  commanded  the 
den  to  be  opened,  and  Daniel  to  be  taken  out;  and,  as  Eastern 
monarchs  often  did  in  the  exercise  of  a  rash  and  passionate 
revenge,  sinful,  improper,  and  unworthy  of  him  as  a  Christian, 
and  injurious  to  him  as  a  monarch,  ordered  men  who  certainly 
deserved  it,  but  to  whom  showing  mercy  would  have  been  a 
brighter  jewel  in  the  regal  crown, — he  commanded  those  men, 
their  wives,  and  their  children,  to  be  cast  into  the  lion's  den  as  a 
punishment  for  their  cruelty  and  perfidy.  Do  not  say,  "This 
book  is  not  from  God,^^  because  it  states  this.  It  does  not  de- 
i  scribe  the  cruel  conduct  of  Darius  as  right;  it  simply  narrates 
I  the  fact.  It  does  not  say  the  king  did  what  was  merciful  and 
good;  it  simply  states  his  deeds.  These  men  were  most  guilty: 
whether  their  punishment  exceeded  their  crime,  it  is  not  for  me 
to  pronounce — but  this  certainly  they  found,  that  he  which  made 
a  pit  and  digged  it,  is  fallen  into  the  snare  which  he  laid.  Jose- 
phus,  the  Jewish  historian,  recording  this  fact,  mentions  the  fol- 
lowing circumstance : — he  says,  that  when  Daniel  thus  wonderfully 
escaped  the  lions'  den,  the  princes  said  that  the  lions  had  been 
previously  surfeited  with  food,  and  on  that  account  it  was  that 
they  refused  to  touch  Daniel.  The  king,  out  of  abhorrence  to 
their  wickedness,  ordered  that  a  great  deal  of  flesh  should  be 
thrown  to  the  lions,  and  when  the  beasts  had  filled  themselves 
with  the  flesh,  he  gave  further  orders  that  Daniel's  enemies 
should  be  cast  into  the  den,  when  they  were  all  destroyed. 

This  is  the  statement  of  an  uninspired  historian,  and  of  course 
must  be  taken  for  what  it  is  worth;  but  these  Persian  princes 
were  plainly  very  much  like  some  of  our  modern  philosophers, 
who  account  for  every  phenomenon  without  admitting  the  element 
of  God.  If  pestilence  comes,  it  was  the  want  of  ozone,  or  vol- 
canic action  that  occasioned  it.  If  pestilence  is  removed,  it  was 
the  cold  weather  that  removed  it.  The  thermometer  becomes 
their  God,  and  weather-phenomena  the  other  idols  they  worship. 
So  these  princes  said.  It  was  not  God  that  saved  Daniel :  no 
doubt  the  lions  had  been  well  fed,  and  therefore  they  spared 
Daniel.  The  experiment,  according  to  Josephus,  was  tried;  and  the 
result  proved  that  God  delivered  Daniel,  while  the  lions  devoured 
his  enemies;  not  because  their  flesh  was  sweeter  to  their  taste. 


DANIEL   IN   THE   DEN  OF  LIONS.  213 

We  see,  in  his  preservinp;  Daniel  from  tlie  lions,  the  eyiclence 
of  a  great  fact, — namely,  God's  power  over  the  beasts  of  the 
earth:  he  is  able  to  stay  their  fierce  propensities,  when,  and 
where,  and  under  what  circumstances  he  pleases.  AVhen  Adam 
was  created,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  beasts  were  at  peace  with 
him,  and  at  peace  with  one  another.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
what  are  now  called  carnivorous  animals  ate  flesh  before  Adam 
fell.  I  know  well  the  difficulties  of  the  case.  I  know  there  are 
traces  of  death  among  the  great  saurian  tribes  long  before  Adam 
was  created;  as  geologists  have  clearly  shown.  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied  that  this  orb  is  probably  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years 
old ;  Genesis  records  merely  the  present  collocation  of  its  surface, 
the  creation  of  man,  and  all  that  relates  to  man :  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  fossil  remains  have  been  excavated  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  among  which,  one  animal  has  been  discovered  petrified 
in  the  jaws  of  another;  showing  that,  prior  to  the  creation  of 
man,  this  earth  has  existed  in  a  chaotic  or  inferior  state,  in  which 
there  was  death  and  mutual  destruction  among  the  lower  animals; 
and  some  of  the  best  and  ablest  of  our  scientific  men  have  doubted 
whether  animals  were  originally  made  to  live  for  ever,  arguing, 
that  if  animals  had  never  died,  the  earth,  according  to  our  pre- 
sent notions,  would  have  been  over-filled  and  over-stocked  with 
them :  and  that  death  among  the  lower  animals  is  no  part  of  the 
curse  pronounced  upon  man, — ^'In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  there- 
of, thou  shalt  surely  die.''^  I  know  there  are  great  difficulties  in 
the  subject:  at  some  future  time  I  hope  to  look  more  minutely  at 
them ;  but  of  this  I  am  quite  persuaded,  that  when  man  was  created, 
and  the  animals  were  brought  to  him  to  receive  their  names,  they 
were  at  peace  with  him,  and  at  peace  with  one  another.  And  I  am 
as  persuaded  of  this,  that  what  are  now  called  the  carnivorous  ani- 
mals did  not  then  feed  on  flesh.  I  know  the  medical  men  and  phy- 
siologists in  this  congregation  will  smile  at  what  they  will  consider 
my  ignorance,  because  we  know  that  the  structure  and  physical 
economy  of  the  animal  that  feeds  on  grass  is  quite  different  from 
that  of  the  animal  that  feeds  on  flesh.  Their  respective  viscera 
difl"er  greatly.  No  doubt  of  it.  I  do  not  say  that  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  the  point;  but  I  am  stating  this  fact,  on  the  authority 
of  God,  that  when  G-od  created  man,  he  said,  "Behold,  I  have 


21-1  PROrilETIC    STUDIES. 

given  thee  every  herb  bearing  seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all 
the  earthy  and  every  tree  in  which  is  the  fiiiit  of  a  tree  yielding- 
seed;  to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat.  And  to  every  beast  of  the 
earth,  and  to  every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth,  wherein  there  is  life,  I  have  given 
every  herb  for  meat:  and  it  was  so.'^  Man,  in  innocence,  did 
not  eat  animal  flesh.  We  have  no  evidence  that  the  permission 
was  given  him  till  after  the  flood;  and  what  do  we,  therefore, 
gather  from  this  fact?  That  animals  were  not  slain  in  order  to 
supply  man's  wants  till  the  deluge.  It  is  plain,  too,  from  the 
passage  I  have  read,  that  the  stronger  carnivorous  animals  did 
not  originally  feed  upon  the  flesh  of  the  weaker  animals;  and  the 
presumptive  inference,  therefore,  is,  that  all  animals,  the  lion  and 
the  lamb,  the  wolf  and  the  sheep,  were  at  perfect  peace  with 
each  other;  and  that  when  they  were  so,  they  presented  only  a 
dim  foreshadow  of  that  better  Paradise,  when,  as  I  believe,  it  will 
literally  come  to  pass,  that  "the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox, 
and  a  little  child  shall  lead  tliem.^^  I  know  some  will  ask.  How 
can  you  understand  that  prediction  literally  ?  You  may  recollect 
what  I  told  you  in  a  previous  lecture, — the  prophecy  of  Zechariah 
was,  that  Christ  shall  come,  "riding  upon  an  ass,  and  on  a  colt, 
the  foal  of  an  ass.'^  Our  spiritual  and  figurative  interpreters 
would  say  this  does  not  mean  that  the  Messiah  wijl  come  literally 
seated  upon  an  ass,  but  that  he  will  come  in  very  great  humility. 
But  when  you  turn  to  history,  you  find  the  minutest  particular 
fulfilled, — that  Jesus  so  came,  so  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  on  a 
colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass.  And  in  the  same  manner  I  understand 
those  glowing  descriptions  of  the  millennial  day,  when  all  things 
shall  be  renewed,  when  the  High-Priest  who  is  now  in  the  holy 
place  shall  come  forth,  and  pronounce,  as  creation's  High-Priest, 
creation's  grand  benediction, — a  benediction  which  shall  ascend 
to  the  heights,  and  descend  to  the  depths,  of  all  created  things; 
— I  believe,  upon  the  testimony  and  authority  of  God,  that  all 
creatures  shall  again  recognise  man  as  their  lord;  and  that  lion 
and  tiger,  and  fish  of  the  sea  and  bird  of  the  air,  shall  all  do  him 
homage  as  creation's  king,  God's  vicar  upon  earth.  God  gave 
token  of  this,  when  he  showed,  as  I  explained  to  you  in  discours- 
ing on  the  miracles  of  our  Lord,  that  though  man  has  lost  the 


DANIEL   IN  THE   DEN   OF   LIONS.  215 

reins,  God  still  holds  tliem.  And  hence  there  are  scattered 
throughout  the  Bible  instances  of  a  similar  kind, — where  the 
ravens  bring  food  to  the  prophet;  where  the  dumb  ass,  at  God's 
bidding,  preached  a  sermon  to  the  disobedient  prophet;  and 
where  the  fierce  lions,  as  in  the  example  before  us,  revered  the 
flesh  of  the  sainted  man,  and  dared  not  touch  him.  God  has  but 
to  speak,  and  the  curse  shall  be  withdrawn;  sin  shall  be  obliterated, 
and  all  things  become  beautiful,  harmonious,  and  happy,  and  the 
world  blossom  into  paradise. 

Looking  at  Daniel's  miraculous  escape,  let  us  never  cease  to 
have  confidence,  under  all  circumstances,  in  God.  Do  not  look 
at  things,  but  look  at  the  Lord  of  things.  Do  not  calculate  what 
shall  Be  by  what  you  see,  but  calculate  ''how  safe  is  that  mother's 
child, ^'  to  use  the  language  of  Hooker,  ''whose  trust  is  in  the 
Ilock  of  ages,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'^  If  God  be  youi-  foe,  or 
rather,  if  you  be  his,  all  creation  shall  bristle  with  enmity,  and 
hostility  to  you;  but  if  you  be  God's  friend,  and  God  your  friend, 
the  winds  shall  make  music  to  you,  the  waves  shall  joyfully  bear 
you,  as  their  ornament,  not  their  load,  and  all  things  shall  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  and  are  the  called  ac- 
cording to  his  purpose. 

The  monarch,  thus  impressed  with  the  truth  of  Daniel's  faith, 
and  struck  with  the  interposition  of  Daniel's  God,  issues  a  decree, 
— a  decree  which  certainly  shows  his  profound  and  solemn  con- 
viction,— enacting  that  the  God  of  Daniel  should  be  worshipped 
and  adored,  and  accepted  throughout  the  whole  earth.  There 
was  much  in  this  decree  that  did  credit  to  the  monarch;  there 
was  much  in  it  that  displayed  his  thorough  ignorance.  The  king 
issued  a  decree,  commanding  men  to  lay  aside  the  creeds  that 
they  loved,  however  wrong  they  were,  and  to  adopt  a  creed  that 
was  new  and  strange  to  them,  however  good.  The  king  forgot 
that  the  despotic  monarch  of  the  East  might  lay  his  hand  upon 
the  property,  or  his  sword  upon  the  life  of  his  subjects;  but  that 
there  is  a  holy  place  of  humanity,  the  conscience,  into  which 
even  a  royal  hand  is  not  permitted  to  enter.  And  when  kings 
suppose  that  they  can  dictate  creeds  to  their  subjects,  they  assume 
a  power  that  does  not  belong  to  them,  and  a  power  it  becomes 
lawful  instantly  to  resist.     Litellectual  convictions  and  conscirii- 


216  ^  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

tious  impressions  are  created  by  truth,  and  they  never  can  be 
coerced  by  force.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  think  the  king  should 
have  done:  instead  of  trying  to  persecute  his  subjects  into  the 
true  religion,  it  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  called  every 
Christian  throughout  the  land  of  Chaldea,  all  the  friends  and  fel- 
low-sufferers of  Daniel,  and  sent  them  out,  two  and  two,  through- 
out all  Chaldea,  telling  them  to  go  and  proclaim  to  all  people,  to 
all  his  subjects,  of  all  tongues,  and  of  all  tribes,  that  Jehovah  is 
the  li\^ng'  God;  that  his  dominion,  to  use  his  own  words,  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  and  that  Daniel's  creed  is  the  creed  of 
truth.  But  his  decree  that  men  should  become  Christians,  might 
create  uniformity  in  subscription  to  a  creed,  but  it  could  not 
produce  unity  of  conviction,  or  heartfelt  adoption  of  the  truth 
"that  he  thus  forced  upon  his  unwilling  subjects.  Never,  my 
dear  friends,  let  us  believe  that  truth  can  be  aided  by  force,  or 
that  a  lie  can  be  burned  out  by  the  fire.  If  the  sword  is  to  be 
unsheathed,  let  it  be  unsheathed  not  by  the  friends,  but  by  the 
foes  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are 
mighty;  and  mighty  just  because  they  are  not  carnal.  But 
while  the  king's  decree  was  wrong,  inasmuch  as  he  tried  to  force 
conviction  where  truth  alone  could  create  it,  yet  the  traths  which 
he  embodied  in  his  decree  were  grand  and  beautiful.  He  said,  God 
is  the  living  God.  Jupiter  is  a  dead  god.  Bel  is  a  dead  god.  Mars 
is  a  dead  god.  But  Jehovah  is  ^^tlie  living  God.^^  And  he  spoke 
truly  when  he  said,  "and  his  kingdom  shall  not  be  destroj'cd.''' 
Why,  what  is  the  history  of  the  world?  Dynasties  have  changed, 
and  thrones  have  tottered,  and  crowns  have  been  tossed  as  baubles, 
and  sceptres  have  been  snapped  as  infants'  toys;  vicissitude,  and 
change,  and  decay  have  seized  upon  and  made  sport  of  the  brightest 
and  the  noblest  of  created  things;  but  there  is  one  kingdom  that 
emerges  more  beautiful  from  wrecks — the  kingdom  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Christianity  still  holds  on  her  upward  and  her  on- 
ward career.  Persecution  has  tried  to  destroy  her  power,  or  crush 
her  influence ;  but  all  history  attests  what  the  Bible  confirms,  that  no 
power  of  man  can  permanently  build  up  a  lie,  and  that  no  hatred  of 
man  can  permanently  injure  the  truth  of  God.  "He,"  saj^s  the 
monarch  in  his  decree,  "maketh  signs  and  wonders;"  and  he  does 
so  still.     The  flower  that  germinates, — the  bud  that  bursts  from 


DANIEL   IN   THE   DEN   OF   LIONS.  217 

the  stem, — tlie  spring  of  the  year,  which  if  it  came  only  once  in 
a  hundred  years,  would  be  the  wonder  and  the  admiration  of  the 
world, — these  are  all  evidences  just  as  decisive  of  the  signs  and 
wonders  of  his  presence  and  his  power,  as  the  miracles  he  wrought 
in  Palestine.  There  is  just  as  much  of  God's  signs  and  wonders, 
and  mighty  power,  in  making  my  living  heart  continue  to  beat, 
as  there  was  in  making;  Lazarus's  dead  heart  be^in  to  beat  agrain. 
What  philosophers  call  phenomena,  the  Bible  calls  the  signs,  and 
wonders,  and  the  tokens  of  the  living  God.  He  g-uides  still  by 
his  hand  the  orbs  that  Newton  discovered:  he  mingled  those 
beauteous  colours  that  Newton  was  the  first  to  untwine.  He 
buried  the  saurian  tribes  before  man  was  created.  He  knows  all 
the  discoveries  that  science  will  make,  all  the  creeds  that  theorists 
will  form,  and  all  the  projects  that  diplomatists  will  propose.  He 
makes,  by  his  almighty  power,  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him. 
He  causes  obstructions  to  aid  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  and  all 
things  to  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him,  and  are 
the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 

Thus,  then,  we  have  seen  Daniel  in  the  den,  Daniel  delivered, 
and  the  monarch  praising,  and  acknowledging,  and  thanking  God. 

In  concluding  my  remarks,  and  especially  in  pleading  the 
claims  of  my  schools,  which  I  do  in  this  lecture,  let  me  remind 
you  that  all  the  excellence  and  the  Christian  heroism  that  Daniel 
exhibited,  was,  as  we  are  told  at  the  beginning  of  the  book, 
mainly  the  result  of  early  religious  education.  Daniel  as  a 
youth  was  educated  in  the  gospel,  and  therefore  Daniel  as  a  man 
lived  according  to  the  gospel.  And  how  did  he  show  his  Chris- 
tian principle  ?  Just  as  I  wish,  and  as  you  would  wish,  your 
babes  to  show  it.  When  he  was  told  that  if  he  prayed  he  would 
be  put  to  death,  that  if  he  confessed  his  religion  he  would  bring 
down  upon  himself  the  shame  and  the  disapprobation  of  others, 
he  cared  not  what  man  might  say;  he  only  thought  of  what  God 
would  think.  And  therefore,  my  dear  friends,  we  are  to  teach 
our  children,  when  they  are  entering  upon  any  duties  in  the 
world,  not  to  submit  to  public  opinion,  but  only  to  defer  it ;  not 
to  fear  the  censure  of  the  sinful,  or  the  thoughtless,  but  to  do 
rioht  because  it  is  right,  and  to  cleave  to  duty  just  because  it  is 
duty.     Let  our  children  be  taught  to  bow  circumstances  to  duty, 

19 


218  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

never  to  bow  duty  to  circumstances.  We  have  nothing  to  do 
with  circumstances  but  to  conquer  them  :  ours  is  duty,  God's  the 
issue. 

A  second  feature  in  Daniel  was  self-sacrifice,  another  result  of 
his  early  education.  He  was  ready  to  give  up  his  honours,  his 
profits,  his  life,  but  never,  never  to  give  up  his  confidence  in  God, 
his  belief  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  Accustom  your  children  to 
self-sacrifice.  Accustom  them  to  be  ready  to  give  up  their 
money,  their  plans,  their  play,  when  the  requirement  of  a  higher 
duty  demands  that  they  should  do  so.  Accustom  them  to  give 
to  the  claims  of  humanity,  to  the  cause  of  God.  A  boy  parting 
his  only  apple  with  his  school-fellow,  looks  to  many  as  a  mere 
childish  act;  it  is  a  sublime  and  significant  fact.  Daniel  had 
parted  his  apple  with  his  school-fellow  before  he  grew  up  to  part 
with  his  life,  if  needs  were,  at  the  bidding  of  his  Father  and  his 
God. 

Teach  your  children,  like  Daniel,  to  shrink  from  every  thing 
like  recrimination.  When  Daniel  was  accused,  how  meekly  he 
bore  it !  when  unjustly  sentenced,  how  gently  he  took  the  sen- 
tence !  not  one  word  of  acrimony  or  retaliation  fell  from  his  lips. 
But  what  do  many  of  you  sometimes  teach  your  children  ?  You 
tell  your  boy,  when  he  is  struck  by  another  boy,  ''  Show  a  little 
spirit ;  retaliate. '^  Nay,  I  have  seen  the  nurse  in  the  nursery 
doing  a  most  mischievous  thing,  by  teaching  the  little  child  that 
had  accidentally  struck  its  head  against  a  table  or  a  chair,  to  beat 
and  scold  the  table  or  the  chair  by  which  the  accident  happened, 
thus  instilling  into  its  mind  the  principle  of  revenge  even  with 
its  mother's  milk.  It  is  a  lesson  too  soon  and  too  readily  learned. 
How  much  better  to  teach  your  child  the  lesson  we  read  in  our 
Saviour's  sermon  on  the  mount :  "  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them 
that  curse  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and 
persecute  you  V  Daniel  had  better  teachers  and  better  schooling, 
and  therefore  retaliation — ^^an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth'^ 
— was  no  dogma  in  Daniel's  creed. 

Daniel  was  plainly  a  child  trained  to  prayer.  Teach  your 
children  not  only  the  words,  the  sentiment  of  prayer,  but  teach 
the  Jiahit  of  prayer.  Teach  them  by  a  form,  but  tell  them  also 
to  lift  that  little  beating  heart  when  the  tongue  must  be  dumb 


DANIEL   IN   THE   DEN   OF   LIONS.  219 

and  give  no  expression  to  its  feelings,  and  to  think  of  our  Fa- 
ther, who  so  loved  us  and  gave  Christ  to  die  for  us.     Teach  them 
to  pray,  and  to  seek  a  new  heart  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  who 
alone  can  give  that  new  heart.     Pray  that  you  may  see  them 
made  Christians  first;  they  will  be  Churchmen  or  Dissenters  soon 
enough.     See  that  they  be  Christians;  leave  all  the  rest.     Teach 
them,  as  D^miel  had  been  taught.  Christian  courtesy.     But  draw 
courtesy  for  your  children  not  from  Chesterfield,  but  from  the 
apostle  Paul.     There  is  a  great  deal  in  refinement.     I  like  to  see 
children  good,  but  I  like  to  see  them  self-sacrificing.     What  is 
the  highest  Christianity  ?     Giving  way  to  your  neighbour  iu  all 
that  can  please  him,  without  any  saoi'ifice  of  principle  or  duty  on 
your  part.     What  is  the  highest  mark  of  courtesy,  the  great  evi- 
dence of  a  true  gentleman  ?     It  is  yielding  to  the  convenience, 
the  comfort,  and  happiness  of  another.     Teach  your  children  so 
toact.^^    Teach  them  at  your  own  table:  don't  say,  "It  is  only 
home,''  it  is  only  your  own  dining  or  drawing-room,  and  there- 
fore the  child  may  do  as  it  likes.     Teach  them  to  do  at  home  as 
you  wish  them  to  do  abroad,  and  then  they  will  do  abroad  with- 
out restraint  that  to  which  they  are  accustomed,  on  the  principle 
on  which  that  issue  is  sustained. 

Thus  Daniel  showed  in  his  grown-up  life  the  graces  which  he 
learned  in  his  earlier  years.  Those  great  reforms  which  are  to 
revolutionize  the  world  must  begin  in  the  nursery.  From  the 
first  moment  that  the  child  leaves  its  cradle,  to  the  last  moment 
that  lie  spends  at  the  university,  there  must  be  Christian  instruc- 
tion bestowed  upon  him.  Education  of  the  head  without  educa- 
tion of  the  heart  is  worse  than  no  education  at  all— it  is  not 
worthy  of  the  name  of  education. 


220 


LECTURE  XYL 


THE   PAPACY. 

"I  camo  near  unto  one  of  them  that  stood  b}',  and  asked  him  the  truth  of  all 
this.  So  he  told  me,  and  made  me  know  the  interpretation  of  the  things.  These 
great  beasts,  which  are  four,  arc  four  kings,  which  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth. 
But  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  kingdom,  and  i^ossess  the  king- 
dom for  ever,  even  for  ever  and  ever.  Then  I  would  know  the  truth  of  the 
fourth  beast,  which  was  diverse  from  all  the  others,  exceeding  dreadful,  whose 
teeth  were  of  iron,  and  his  nails  of  brass ;  which  devoured,  brake  in  pieces, 
and  stamped  the  residue  with  his  feet;  and  of  the  ten  horns  that  were  in  his 
head,  and  of  the  other  which  came  up,  and  before  whom  three  fell;  even  of  that 
horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth  that  spake  very  great  things,  whose  look  was 
more  stout  than  his  fellows.  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made  war  with 
the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them ;  until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and 
judgment  was  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High;  and  the  time  came  that 
the  saints  possessed  the  kingdom.  Thus  he  said.  The  fourth  beast  shall  be  the 
fourth  kingdom  upon  earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all  kingdoms,  and  shall 
devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down,  and  break  it  in  pieces.  And 
the  ten  horns  out  of  this  kingdom  are  ten  kings  that  shall  arise:  and  another 
shall  arise  after  them ;  and  he  shall  be  diverse  from  the  first,  and  he  shall  sub- 
due three  kings.  And  he  shall  speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High,  and 
shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think  to  change  times  and 
laws :  and  they  shall  be  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time  and  times  and  the  di- 
viding of  time.  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  do- 
minion, to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end.  And  the  kingdom  and 
dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be 
given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him.  Hitherto  is  the 
end  of  the  matter.  As  for  me,  Daniel,  my  cogitations  much  troubled  me,  and 
my  countenance  changed  in  mo  :  but  I  kept  the  matter  in  my  heart," — Daniel 
vii.  16-28. 

The  four  chapters  on  wliich  I  have  discoursed  on  successive 
Sunday  evenings^  have  been  evidences  of  the  power  of  real  religion, 
when  the  upholder  and  advocate  of  that  religion  was  persecuted 
and  oppressed.     The  sixth  chapter^  on  the  last  verse  of  which  I 


THE   PAPACY.  221 

addressed  you  last  Sunday  evening,  closed  the  personal  biography, 
if  I  ma}^  so  call  it,  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  presenting  to  us  a 
specimen  of  Christianity  in  ancient  times,  as  beautiful  as  it  was 
rare,  and  showing  us  that  if  Daniel,  amid  such  circumstances — a 
captive,  persecuted,  oppressed,  misrepresented,  cast  to  the  wild 
beasts,  denounced  to  his  king — exhibited  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  amid  the  darkness  of  an  age  on  which  the  sun  of 
righteousness  had  not  fully  risen,  such  constancy,  such  attachment 
to  his  principles,  such  hatred  of  every  thing  like  compromise  or 
concession  of  the  truth,  such  devotedness  to  God,  such  a  martyr's 
spirit  amid  more  than  a  martyr's  sufferings,  "How  shall  we  es- 
cape if,'^  amid  intenser  light  and  with  greater  privileges,  *^'we 
neglect  so  great  a  salvation  ?" 

Before  proceeding  to  expound  the  passage  I  have  selected,  I 
should  like  to  read  to  you  a  sketch  which  has  been  drawn  of  the 
prophet  Daniel  by  an  ancient  writer,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand. 

''  It  was  this  love  of  Grod  which  made  his  greatly  beloved  Da- 
niel prosperous  in  adversity,  that  gave  him  freedom  in  captivity, 
friendship  among  enemies,  safety  among  infidels,  victory  over  his 
conquerors,  and  all  the  privileges  of  a  native  in  strange  countries : 
it  was  the  love  of  God  that  gave  his  greatly  beloved  '  knowledge 
and  skill  in  all  learning  and  dreams.^  It  was  this  love  of  God 
that  delivered  him  in  danger — from  the  conspiracy  and  malice  of 
the  Median  princes ;  from  the  fury  of  the  lions }  that  sent  one 
angel  in  the  den  to  stop  their  mouths,  and  another  angel  at  an- 
other time  to  bring  a  prophet  on  purpose  to  feed  him ;  that  sig- 
nally avenged  him  of  his  enemies,  and  did  by  a  miracle  vindicate 
his  integrity.  It  was  the  love  of  God  that  sent  the  angel  Gabriel 
to  visit  him — to  be  his  interpreter — to  strengthen,  to  comfort, 
to  encourage  him ;  to  reveal  secrets  to  him,  and  to  assure  him 
that  his  prayers  were  heard.  It  was  the  love  of  God  which  gave 
him  the  spirit  of  prophecy — that  excellent  spirit,  that  spirit  of 
the  holy  gods,  (as  the  Babylonians  styled  it,)  by  which  he  foretold 
the  rise  and  period  of  the  four  monarchies,  the  return  of  the  cap- 
tivity, and  wrote  long  beforehand  the  history  of  future  ages.  But 
beyond  all  this,  it  was  the  love  of  God  that  presented  him  with  a 
clearer  landscape  of  the  gospel  than  any  other  prophet  ever  ha  1 ; 
he  was  the  beloved  prophet  under  the  old  dispensation,  as  John 

19* 


222  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

was  the  beloved  disciple  under  tlie  new,  and  both  being  animated 
by  the  same  divine  love,  there  was  a  wonderful  harmony  between 
them  ;  both  of  them  had  miraculous  preservations — one  from  the 
lions,  the  other  from  the  burning  caldron ;  both  engaged  young 
in  the  service  of  God,  and  consecrated  their  lives  by  an  early 
piety ;  and  both  lived  to  a  great  and  equal  age — to  about  an 
hundred  years :  both  had  the  like  intimacy  with  God — the  like 
admittance  into  the  most  adorable  mysteries — and  tha^like  abun- 
dance of  heavenly  visions  :  both  had  the  like  lofty  flights  and  ec- 
static revelations.'^ 

Such  is  the  sketch  of  the  prophet  given  by  an  ancient  writer, 
as  comprehensive  as  it  is  beautiful  and  true.  I  sj^oke  last  Lord's- 
day  evening  of  the  safety  of  Daniel  when  cast  among  the  furious 
wild  beasts,  because  of  his  attachment  to  his  God  and  his  devoted- 
ness  to  his  religion.  I  cannot  but  read  here  also  a  beautiful  pas- 
sage from  the  justly-called  judicious  Hooker,  which  is  founded 
upon  this  incident — Daniel's  preservation  in  the  den  of  lions. 

'^  It  was  not  the  meaning  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  in  saying, 
'  Father,  keep  them  in  thy  name,'  that  we  should  be  careless  to 
keep  ourselves.  To  our  own  safety  our  own  sedulity  is  required ; 
and  then,  blessed  for  ever  be  that  mother's  child,  whose  faith 
hath  made  him  the  child  of  God.  The  earth  may  shake,  the  pil- 
lars of  the  world  may  tremble  under  us,  the  countenance  of  the 
heaven  may  be  appalled,  the  sun  may  lose  his  light,  the  moon  her 
beauty,  the  stars  their  glory;  but  concerning  the  man  that  trusteth 
in  God,  if  the  fire  once  proclaimed  itself  unable  to  singe  a  hair 
of  his  head — if  lions,  beasts  ravenous  by  nature  and  keen  with 
hunger,  being  set  to  devour,  have,  as  it  were,  religiously  adored 
the  flesh  of  the  faithful  man — what  is  there  in  the  vrorld  that  will 
change  his  heart,  overthrow  his  faith,  alter  his  afFeetion  toward 
God,  or  the  afi'ection  of  God  to  him  ?  If  I  be  of  this  note,  who 
shall  make  a  separation  between  me  and  my  God  ?  '  Shall  tribu- 
lation, or  anguish,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or 
peril,  or  sword  ?'  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  tribulation,  nor 
anguish,  nor  persecution,  nor  famine,  nor  nakedness,  nor  peril, 
nor  sv/ord,  nor  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  "nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,'  shall  ever  prevail  so  far  over  me. 


THE   PAPACY.  2.23 

I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed ;  I  am  not  ignorant  who^e  pre- 
cious blood  liatli  been  shed  for  me;  I  have  a  Shepherd  full  of 
kindness^  full  of  care,  and  full  of  power;  unto  him  I  commit  my- 
self:  his  own  finger  hath  engraven  this  sentence  on  the  tables  of 
my  heart :  '  Satan  hath  desired  to  winnow  thee  as  wheat,  but  I 
have  prayed  that  thy  faith  fail  not/  therefore  the  assurance  of 
my  hope  I  will  labour  to  keep  as  a  jewel  unto  the  end ;  and  by 
labour,  through  the  gracious  mediation  of  his  prayer,  I  shall  keep 
it/' 

Such  is  first  a  sketch  of  the  life — such  is  a  grand  exhibition 
of  the  safety  enjoyed  by  Daniel,  and  not  only  by  Daniel,  but  all 
who  have  like  faith,  like  love,  and  a  like  God  to  serve,  to  glorify, 
and  to  honour. 

I  now  enter  upon  that  passage  which  is  in  some  degree  a  repe- 
tition of  what  has  been  sketched  before.  You  recollect  that  a 
great  image  appeared  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  a  head  of  gold, 
the  breast  and  arms  of  silver,  the  belly  and  the  thighs  of  brass, 
and  the  feet  of  iron,  and  these  feet  divided  into  ten  toes,  partly 
clay  and  partly  iron,  which,  apparently  cohering  together  by  the 
great  law  of  attraction,  were  never  made  permanently  to  do  so. 
And  I  explained,  in  expounding  that  passage,  that  the  vision  re- 
lated by  the  prophet  was  a  description  of  the  doom  of  Babylon ; 
the  second,  the  Medo-Persian  empire;  the  third,  the  Macedonian, 
under  Alexander — the  brass-coated  Greeks ;  the  fourth,  the  Ro- 
man, or  the  iron  empire,  divided  ultimately,  at  the  breaking  up  of 
the  empire,  into  ten  kingdoms.  These  ten  kingdoms  preserved  in 
every  century  more  or  less  distinctness,  and  although  Charlemagne 
made  the  efi'ort  in  one  century,  and  Napoleon  in  a  subsequent  cen- 
tury, to  extinguish  the  ten  kingdoms,  and  to  erect  the  fifth  emj)ire 
composed  of  all  the  empires  of  the  world,  God's  word  was  found 
to  be  stronger  than  the  sword  of  Charlemagne,  or  the  iron  crown 
of  Napoleon,  and  the  ten  kingdoms  still  remain,  and  God's  pre- 
diction still  stands  true.  You  have  now  the  very  same  historical 
facts — and  this  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  again  dwelling  upon 
them — sketched  in  this  chapter,  under  the  symbol  of  beasts.  The 
first  was  revealed  to  a  heathen  king ;  the  second  is  disclosed  to  a 
holy  prophet ;  and  while  it  is  perfectly  true  that  God  sometimes 
uses  his  enemies  to  be  the  exponents  of  his  truth,  it  is  generally 


224  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

true  that  ^^  holy  men  of  old  spake  us  they  Avere  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

But  the  very  repetition  of  this  passage  shows  that  there  must 
be  importance  in  it.  Surely  God  does  not  reiterate  trifles.  I  ask 
you,  Do  those  men  treat  the  Scripture  with  that  reverence  which 
is  its  due,  or  God  with  truly  responsive  gratitude,  who  tell  us 
that  we  ought  to  pass  over  such  passages  as  these,  as  if  our  duty 
were  not  to  pray,  and  labour  to  be  able  to  explain,  and,  if  possible, 
to  understand  whatever  God  has  written  for  our  learning  ?  And 
yet  1  have  heard  ministers  of  the  gospel  speak  as  if  it  were  to 
their  credit,  that  they  were  so  dazzled  by  the  glories  of  Palestine, 
that  they  could  not  spare  one  glance  at  what  they  think  the 
humbler  and  the  misty  beauties  of  Patmos.  It  does  seem  to  me 
that  ''  all  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  pro- 
jQtable  for  doctrine,  for  correction,  and  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness :'^  and  if  God  saw  it  to  be  for  his  glory  to  write  it,  surely 
the  least  response  that  we  can  give  is,  to  make  it  our  study  to 
understand  it.  Of  course  it  becomes  us  never  so  to  dwell  upon 
one  part  as  to  give  a  disproportionate  attention  to  the  rest.  These 
historic  and  prophetic  pictures  are  the  few  and  the  far  between ; 
and  we  are  only  to  discourse  upon  them  on  Sabbaths  that  are  few 
and  far  between.  The  great,  saving,  vital  truths  of  the  gospel 
are  to  be  the  woof  and  the  warp  of  every  sermon ;  the  sum,  the 
substance,  the  core,  the  life,  of  every  appeal.  But  when  such 
passages  as  these — historical,  it  is  true ;  prophetic,  it  is  also  true 
— come  before  us,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  our  ordinary  reading, 
it  becomes  us  to  look  at  them,  and  pray  for  light  to  understand 
them,  and  to  gather  from  the  tree  that  God  has  planted  leaves 
that  shall  bfe  for  healing,  and  fruit  that  shall  be  for  food  to  the 
people. 

These  four  kingdoms,  then,  are  now  depicted  under  a  new 
symbol.  The  first  symbol  was  the  image  composed  of  different 
metals ;  the  second  class  of  symbols  are  four  wild  beasts ;  the 
first,  a  lion  with  wings ;  a  hieroglyph  in  one  respect :  because  this 
composite  animal  alone  could  express  what  was  the  mind  of  God, 
and  denote  the  strength  and  courage  that  combined  with  them  the 
speed  and  progress  of  the  Babylonian  empire.  The  second  sym- 
bol, or  type,  was  the  bear — the  symbol  of  Persia,  and  expressive 


THE   TAPACY.  225 

of  its  cruel  and  savage  nature.  The  third  was  the  leopard, — the 
Macedonian  leopard,  with  four  wings,  to  give  a  greater  idea  of 
the  rapidity  of  its  conquests;  and  with  four  heads^into  which 
-the  empire  of  Alexander  was  divided  after  his  death,  and  the  do- 
minion that  was  given  to  them.  And  then  the  last,  an  animal, 
not  named,  but  described, — "dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong 
exceedingly,  stamping  the  residue  with  the  feet  of  it,  and  diverse 
from  all  the  other  beasts,'^ — plainly  the  Eoman  empire,  repre- 
sented by  the  iron  feet  and  toes  of  the  great  image.  It  had  also 
ten  horns.  The  horn  is  always  used  in  Scripture  to  represent 
power :  it  denotes,  in  prophetic  language,  a  dynasty,  a  political 
empire.  This  last  wild  beast,  of  terrific  power  and  strength,  and 
irresistible  victories,  vras  to  have  upon  his  head,  as  the  hieroglyph 
expresses  it,  "  ten  horns.''  These  were  the  ten  kingdoms,  sym- 
bolized in  the  former  image  by  the  ten  toes,  into  which  the  llo- 
man  empire  was  to  be  divided ;  these  ten  kingdoms  I  have 
enumerated  in  their  order,  in  the  course  of  my  remarks  upon  the 
great  image ;  and  I  therefore  forbear  to  repeat  them  now.  These 
ten  horns,  or  kingdoms,  have  existed  in  every  age  since  the  em- 
pire came  into  being,  and  are  in  existence  at  the  present  moment. 
Then  there  was  to  spring  up  in  the  midst  of  the  ten  horns,  a 
^'  little  horn,''  politically  and  physically  small,  but  from  its  pre- 
tensions and  its  assumptions,  terrible  and  influential.  This  little 
horn  was  to  pull  down  three  of  the  ten  horns.  Now,  is  there  any 
one  fact  in  history  by  which  this  is  borne  out,  and  which  shows 
how  truly  this  prediction  has  been  fulfilled  ?  This  I  will  look  at 
by-and-by  -,  but,  in  the  mean  time,  let  me  call  upon  you  to  notice 
that  these  four  wild  beasts  arose  from  the  ocean,  or  the  great  sea, 
convulsed  and  agitated  by  the  four  winds  that  swept  it ;  teaching 
us  that  these  governments  were  to  arise  from  social  chaos,  or,  if  I 
may  so  express  myself,  that  society,  torn  and  convulsed  to  its 
centre  by  the  antagonistic  passions  of  those  that  compose  it,  should 
be  driven  to  have  recourse  to  rule,  government,  and  authority,  in 
order  to  preserve  it  from  utter  extinction ;  to  consolidate  its 
powers,  and  maintain  harmony  within ;  to  defend  itself  from  the 
aggressions  of  enemies  without.  But  these  governments  that 
were  to  arise  are  here  called  "  wild  beasts ;"  denoting  what,  after 
all,  has  been  the  character  of  those  great  empires,  and  of  every 


00(3  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

empire  that  Las  not  the  gospel  of  peace  to  perfect,  to  sanctify, 
and  to  cement  it.  What  has  been  the  history  of  nations  in  the 
past  ? — they  have  raised  themselves  to  ascendency  by  force  or  by 
fraud;  and  they  have  maintained  that  ascendency  generally  by 
force  or  by  fraud  also.  War  has  been  the  pride  and  the  glory 
of  nations  in  the  past.  Coercion  has  been  the  language  of  the 
most  illustrious  emperors ;  and  the  sword  cast  into  the  scale,  as 
in  the  case  of  Camillus  of  old,  has  been  the  justice  which  nations 
have  meted  out,  and  kings  and  great  kingdoms  have  called  in. 
A  wild  beast  is  the  true  symbol  of  a  nation,  a  dynasty,  or  a  king- 
dom that  knows  not,  and  coheres  not  by,  the  cementing  influence 
of  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  And  when  we  know  that  this  is  the 
character  of  nations,  how  fervently  should  we  pray  for  the  advent 
of  that  blessed  period,  when  the  spear  shall  be  turned  into  the 
jrruning-hook,  and  the  sword  shall  be  beaten  into  the  plough- 
share ; — when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Grod  and  of  his  Christ,  and  the  only  sceptre  that  shall 
sway  the  nations  from  sea  to  sea,  shall  be  the  sceptre  of  the 
Prince  of  peace,  the  righteousness,  the  love^  the  mercy,  of  the 
Son  of  God. 

I  have  noticed  that  this  last  wild  beast,  the  fiercest,  or  the  most 
powerful  of  all,  had  ten  horns;  or,  as  I  explained  to  you,  was 
divided  into  ten  separate  and  independent  dynasties.  Of  these  I 
have  already  given  you  a  list,  as  they  exist  at  the  present  moment, 
with  the  slightest  shade  of  differences,  in  the  modern  European 
nations.  In  the  midst  of  all  these,  there  was  to  arise  a  little  horn  ; 
plainly  a  political  dynasty,  like  the  rest,  but  with  very  great 
moral,  personal,  and  distinctive  peculiarities.  This  little  horn 
was  not  Mohammed,  or  Bramah,  or  Confucius,  because  it  was  to 
appear  in  the  midst  of  the  other  ten  horns.  It  spread  from  the 
head  of  the  wild  beast,  amid  the  ten  horns,  or  kingdoms,  which 
first  arose ;  and  it  was,  like  the  other  horns,  a  political  dynasty ; 
but  it  differed  from  the  rest  in  this  respect,  that  it  had  eyes  for 
seeing,  and  a  mouth  for  speaking.  We  are,  therefore,  taught 
that  this  power  should  be  a  combination  of  the  power  of  the  seer 
and  the  speaker,  the  Ui<jy.o-nq,  and  the  priest,  and  the  politi- 
cal speaker.  It  should  be  "a  horn,'^  having  political  power; 
but  should  have  eyes;  the  origin  of  the  Greek  word  l-irry.o-o:;, 


THE   PxVrACY.  227 

from  wliich  is  derived  the  English  word  episcopacy,  signifying 
*^  one  that  oversees  /'  ^'  one  that  sees  and  looks  over  other  per- 
sons 3''^  and  the  name  given  to  the  prophets  of  old  is  "  a  seer  -/' 
"  one  that  sees/'  The  ecclesiastical  character  of  this  little  horn 
is,  therefore,  plainly  indicated  by  the  peculiar  feature  that  it  was 
to  have  eyes  for  seeing,  or  superintending  those  that  were  beneath 
it.  And  not  only  was  it  to  have  eyes,  but  it  was  also  to  have  a 
mouth,  speaking  great  things ;  a  preacher  of  proud  pretensions, 
or  a  doctor  of  despotic  laws ;  an  enactor  of  canons,  or  rules  for 
government  and  for  regulation. 

Then  you  will  notice  another  feature  in  it,  that  it  was  to  uproot 
three  out  of  the  ten  kingdoms.  Now  if  I  apply  this  little  horn 
where  I  think  it  is  indisputably  applicable,  to  the  Papal  power 
that  now  reigns  at  Rome,  I  think  you  will  find  every  feature  of 
the  prophecy  met  and  embodied  in  the  history  of  that  power. 
The  three  kingdoms  that  were  rooted  up  by  this  little  horn  were 
the  three  kingdoms  of  the  Vandals,  Ostrogoths,  and  the  Lom- 
bards, who  were,  after  a  succession  of  troubles,  rooted  up  by  the 
Papacy  and  constituted  into  the  States  of  the  Church.  Now  here 
is  a  very  remarkable  coincidence.  Can  this  accident,  that  there 
is  here  a  description  of  a  little  horn,  an  ecclesiastico-political 
power,  which  was  to  root  out  three  horns  or  kingdoms  that  pre- 
ceded it?  And  you  find  in  the  history  of  Europe,  that  the 
Papacy  has  destroyed,  partly  by  force  and  partly  by  fraud,  long 
ago,  three  of  the  estates  of  the  ten  into  which  Europe  was  divided; 
and  the  pope  wears  upon  his  head  at  this  very  moment,  the  tiara 
or  three-crowned  cap,  to  denote  the  three  kingdoms  or  horns 
which  he  rooted  up,  and  over  which  he  now  reigns. 

Then  you  will  notice  that  this  power  was  to  have  a  mouth 
speaking  great  things — a  mouth  by  which  it  claims  to  bo  the 
vicar  of  God,  and  to  have  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell.  It 
assumes  the  language,  and  arrogates  to  itself  the  attributes  of 
deity.  A  mouth  which  assumes  what  bishop  never  assumed  be- 
fore, and  claims  an  intimacy  with  the  world  of  spirits  such  as 
God  never  vouchsafed  to  any  creature  upon  earth.  The  pope 
professes  to  see  into  the  realms  of  spirits;  to  read  and  to  make 
known  God's  hidden,  unsearchable,  and  inscrutable  record;  and 
pronounces,  by  declaring  that  he  sees,  what  is  the  doom  of  the 


228  rrtOriiETic  studies. 

lost  that  are  in  wo^  and  the  destiny  of  the  saved  that  are  in 
glory;  and  can,  for  payment^  facilitate  the  escape  of  the  sufferers 
in  purgatory,  and  can  canonize  and  constitute  into  saints,  to  be 
worshipped,  those  who  are  the  inmates  of  the  latter. 

But  the  better  way  to  show  how  this  prophecy  is  fulfilled,  is  to 
refer  to  some  of  the  great  things  that  this  horn  speaks.  Do  not 
say  that  it  is  of  no  importance  to  explain  this.  Whatever  God 
has  written,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  minister  to  endeavour  to  ex- 
pound. Here  is  a  prophecy  that  this  episcopal  ecclesiastico- 
political  power  was  to  have,  in  the  first  place,  a  mouth  that  should 
speak  great  things.  Let  me  read  to  you  very  briefly  what  I  my- 
self have  collected,  at  considerable  labour  and  pains,  from  among 
the  ^^  great  things"  which  this  mouth  speaks.  I  might  give  you, 
not  my  description  of  the  things,  but  the  very  things  themselves, 
as  I  have  taken  them  from  the  writings  in  which  they  are  con- 
tained. The  bull  of  Pope  Sextus  Y.  against  the  two  sons  of 
wrath,  as  he  calls  them,  Henry  of  Navarre  and  the  Prince  de 
Conde,  is  one  specimen  amid  many  of  the  pretensions  put  forth 
by  the  Papal  power.  You  say,  perhaps,  ''these  are  obsolete.^' 
What  was  infallibly  right  in  the  sixteenth  century,  cannot  be 
wrong  in  the  nineteenth.  These  pretensions  never  have  been 
diluted,  still  less  repudiated.  The  pope  claims  jurisdiction  over 
all  the  kings  and  governments  of  the  earth;  though,  thanks  be 
to  God,  I  think  his  political  sovereignty  is  gone  substantially, 
never  to  be  wielded  again  with  any  thing  like  success  over  the 
nations  of  the  earth;  though  his  spiritual  power,  in  our  own 
land  especially,  seems  to  be  making  progress  to  a  degree  unpre- 
cedented since  the  Reformation. 

In  making  these  arrogant  assumptions,  ''the  mouth,"  as  it  is 
here  called,  proceeds  upon  the  assumption  that  Peter  was  the 
chief  of  the  apostles,  and  that  the  popes  of  Rome  are  the  succes- 
sors of  Peter.  There  is  not  the  least  evidence  in  the  Bible  or  in- 
history  that  such  was  the  case.  In  the  first  place,  when  the 
apostles  contended  which  should  be  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  our  Lord,  instead  of  setting  Peter  before  them  and 
saying,  "Here  is  your  superior,^'  took  a  little  child,  and  set  him 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  "He  that  is  greatest  of  all  shall 
be  servant  of  all.'^     Was  Peter  constituted  an  ambassador?     So 


THE   PAPACY.  229 

was  Paul.  Did  Peter  receive  the  keys?  So  did  Paul.  And 
Peter,  in  his  epistles,  styles  himself  only  an  ^^ elder:"  *'I  who  am 
also  an  elder  ....  unto  you  who  are  elders.''  Did  Peter  re- 
ceive the  power  of  binding  and  of  loosing?  So  did  Paul.  Do 
not  we  read  that  the  apostles  "sent  Peter  and  John/'  &c.,  and 
that  St.  Paul  rebuked  Peter  to  his  face?  And  if  we  ask  the 
present  pontiff  to  trace  his  succession  to  Peter,  we  shall  see  that 
Honorius  the  Monothelite,  and  Liberius  the  Arian,  had  not  the 
succession  in  doctrine;  Alexander  VI.  and  Gregory  VII.  had  not 
the  succession  in  holiness.  The  popes  do  not  preach,  as  Peter 
did.  The  pope's  shadow  does  not  heal  diseases,  as  Peter's  did. 
And  in  all  these  respects,  and  in  many  others  which  might  be 
mentioned,  the  succession  seems  to  have  failed,  and  the  popes  of 
Rome  to  have  become  the  successors  of  Judas,  not  the  successors 
of  Peter,  the  fisherman  of  Galilee.  There  is  left  then  only  "a 
mouth  speaking,"  not  proving,  ^^ great  things." 

But  these  '^ great  words"  are  said  to  be  spoken  specially 
against  the  Most  High.  What  are  the  assumptions  of  the  popes  ? 
I  will  quote  what  I  have  copied  literally  from  Baronius,  the  cele- 
brated Roman  Catholic  historian,  in  his  annals;  such  epithets  as 
these  bestowed  by  such  high  authority  on  the  Roman  pontiff: 
^Hhe  sovereign  of  the  Church;"  the  "head  of  the  Church;" 
"our  Lord;"  the  "high-priest  and  pastor;"  the  "chief  doctor;'^ 
the  "master;"  the  "father;"  the  "judge  of  all."  (Baron.  An. 
34.)  "It  is  idolatry  to  disobey  the  pope's  commands."  (Greg. 
VII.  ch.  4.)  And  that  he  speaks  great  words  against  the  Most 
High,  I  show  you  from  Bellarmine,  the  great  cardinal  and  up- 
holder of  the  Church  of  Rome,  who  says:  "Si  autem  papa  erra- 
ret  prsecipiendo  vitia  vel  prohibendo  virtutes,  teneretur  ecclesia 
credere  vitia  esse  bona  et  virtutes  malas,  nisi  vellet  contra  con- 
scientiam  peccare."  (Bel.  de  Rom.  Pont.  vol.  i.  p.  546.  Prag. 
1721.)  "If  the  Pope  should  err  by  commanding  vices  or  pro- 
hibiting virtues,  the  church  would  be  bound  to  believe  that  vices 
were  good  and  virtues  bad,  unless  she  wished  to  sin  against  con- 
science." I  have  quoted  these  words,  not  at  second-hand,  but 
from  the  works  of  the  author,  which  I  have  been  at  the  pains  to 
consult.  These  indeed  are  "great  words"  against  the  jMost  High. 
But  there  is  other  and  equally  strong   evidence:    Jesus  said, 

20 


230  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

"Drink  ye  all  of  tliis  cup;"  the  pope  says,  "The  laity  shall  not 
drink  of  it/^  God  says,  "Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any 
graven  image,  or  the  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven  above, 
or  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  waters  under  the  earth :  thou 
shalt  not  bow  down  to  them  nor  worship  them/^  In  most 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  catechisms  that  I  have  seen,  that  com- 
mandment is  either  left  out  altogether,  or  "bow"  is  changed  into 
"adore,''  though  the  meaning  of  the  original  is  strictly  "bow," 
because  the  attitude  of  the  body  was  forbidden,  lest  there  should 
be  the  feelings  of  the  soul  immediately  following  or  accompany- 
ing it.  And  the  pope  permits  images  to  be  reared,  crosses  to  be 
adored,  and  the  bread  upon  the  altar  to  be  worshipped.  God 
says,  "Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother;"  the  pope  substan- 
tially says,  "If  the  father  be  a  heretic,  the  son  is  bound  to  re- 
veal him."  God  says  again,  "Thou  shalt  not  steal;"  the  Romish 
doctors  say,  that  "small  thefts  are  only  venial  sins."  God  says, 
"Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy;"  the  Romish  cate- 
chism, as  printed  and  published  at  Rome,  says,  "Remember  the 
festivals  to  keep  them  holy:"  "Recordati  di  sanetificare  le  festi." 
We  have  here  then  "the  mouth  speaking  great  things  and  words 
against  the  Most  High." 

Sanctissimus  Dominus  noster,  "our  most  holy  Lord,"  is  the 
appellation  given  to  the  pope  by  the  Council  of  Trent.  (Decre- 
tum  super  petitione  concessionis  calicis.  Cone.  Trid.  sess.  22,  cap. 
ii.  p.  223.  Paris,  1837.)  "All  power  is  given  to  thee  in  heaven 
and  earth,"  are  words  addressed  to  Gregory  VII.  (Binius,  vol. 
vii.  p.  484.)  It  would  be  tedious  to  quote  all  the  evidence  af- 
forded by  documents,  monuments,  official  claims,  and  accepted 
titles,  of  the  idolatrous  and  blasphemous  pretensions  of  the  popes 
of  Rome.  "The  mouth  speaking  great  things"  is  too  character- 
istic, too  graphic,  to  escape  the  application  I  have  given. 

Another  feature  that  identifies  this  little  horn  with  the  Papal- 
power,  is  the  prediction  that  "he  will  make  war  with  the  saints." 
The  whole  history  of  Europe  is  painfully  conclusive  evidence  of 
this  feature.  It  was  a  pope  who  raised  the  crusades  against  the 
Albigenscs,  and  carried  them  on  until  the  whole  province  was 
depopulated.  It  was  a  pope  that  instigated  Alberic  III.  to  make 
war  against  the  Paulicians  in  the  East,  till,  within  a  few  years, 


THE   PAPACY.  231 

one  hundred  tlioiisand  were  put  to  death.  Aquinas,  the  cele- 
brated casuist,  said  that  ''the  goods  of  heretics  were  to  be  confis- 
cated, and  their  lives  to  be  taken  away/'  Bellarmine  says,  "It 
is  not  enough  to  put  heretics  in  prison  for  the  extinction  of  their 
tenets,  which  go  forth  from  prison  walls  and  taint  the  fold;  there- 
fore it  is  best  to  send  them  to  their  own  place/'  When  we  look 
back  to  the  persecutions  to  which  the  Albigenses,  the  Paulicians, 
and  the  Waldenses  were  subjected,  and  when  we  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  sentiments  and  doctrines  of  Rome's  most  emi- 
nent and  accredited  upholders,  we  can  have  little  doubt  that  the 
power  which  thus  made  war  against  the  saints,  is  "the  little 
horn,"  which  grew  up  amid  the  ten;  for  all  history  in  all  its 
chapters,  and  the  word  of  God  in  its  most  solemn  sentences,  de- 
clares that  that  power  has  been  "drunk  with  the  blood  of  the 
saints."  It  was  the  retrospect  of  such  cruelties  which  made 
Milton  exclaim — ■ 

''Avenge,  0  Lord,  thy  slaughter'd  saints,  wliose  bones 
Lie  scatter'd  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold. 
Even  they  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshipp'd  stocks  and  stones, 
Forget  not.     In  thy  book  record  their  groans 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese,  that  roU'd 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.     Their  moans 
The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 
To  heaven.     Their  martyr'd  blood  and  ashes  sow 
O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 
The  triple  tyrant,  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundred-fold,  who,  having  learn'd  the  way, 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  wo." 

It  is  true  the  pope  does  not  now  persecute,  unless  we  should 
quote  Dr.  Achilli  as  an  instance  of  an  attempt  to  do  so;  but  you 
are  not  therefore  to  conclude  that  his  principles  have  changed, 
for  they  are  precisely  the  same.  It  is  not  because  his  taste  has 
been  improved,  for  the  instance  of  Achilli  shows  that  it  has  not; 
but  it  is  because  the  freedom  of  the  press,  the  spread  of  popular 
liberty,  the  mildness  of  the  governments  of  Euroj)C,  and  the  pro- 
gress and  triumph  of  enlightened  education,  have,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  brought  it  to  pass  that  the  pope's  power  is  limited 
to  his  church  provinces.     And  the  system  of  Popery  S'eems  to 


232  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

me  at  tliis  moment  to  totter,  waiting  for  that  tremendous  crasli 
which  shall  sink  it  like  a  millstone  into  the  depths  of  the  sea  for 
ever  and  ever.  The  oath  of  every  Komish  bishop  is  persecuting : 
^'Omnes  hssreticos  persequar  et  impugnabar."  Force  and  fraud 
are  the  two  main  pillars  of  the  popedom. 

Thus  then  I  have  looked  at  these  two  points :  first,  the  heathen 
kingdoms  that  were  to  emerge  from  the  chaos  in  the  convulsions 
of  the  earth ;  next,  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  the  first  was  to 
be  split  under  the  symbol  of  horns;  next,  the  little  horn  that 
sprang  up  amid  the  ten,  and  therefore  in  Europe;  next,  the 
three  that  were  to  be  pulled  down — the  Vandals,  the  Ostrogoths, 
and  the  Lombards — by  this  little  horn;  next,  the  evidence  of  its 
fulfilment  in  the  Papacy — a  see,  an  episcopal  power,  with  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things  and  words  against  the  Most  High, 
and  making  war  with  the  saints  and  the  people  of  Grod.  And 
then  we  have  explained,  in  another  portion  of  the  chapter,  the 
length  of  time  during  which  this  politico-ecclesiastical  power  was 
to  make  war  with  the  saints.  It  is  in  ver.  25:  "They  shall  be 
given  into  his  hand  until  a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing  of 
a  time."  Every  writer  upon  prophecy  is  satisfied  that  a  "time" 
signifies,  in  prophetic  language,  a  year;  "times,"  two  years;  and 
"the  dividing  of  a  time,"  or  "half  a  time,"  half  a  prophetic 
year.  But  as  a  prophetic  day  stands  for  a  literal  year,  so  a  pro- 
phetic year  consists  of  365  prophetic  days,  or  365  literal  years. 
A  tim.e,  times,  and  half  a  time,  make  then,  when  added  together, 
1260  days,  called  by  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse,  42  months. 
AVe  are  to  understand,  then,  that  the  saints  of  God  were  to  be 
given  into  the  power  of  the  ecclesiastico-political  despotism  for 
1260  years.  If  we  begin  to  count  this  period  from  the  time 
when  Justinian  issued  his  pandects,  and  constituted  the  pope  not 
only  the  ecclesiastical  pontiff  of  Christendom,  but  armed  him 
also  with  power  to  punish  heresy  with  death,  then  the  1260  3^cars. 
ended  at  the  epoch  of  the  French  Revolution,  in  1792;  and  cer- 
tainly, by  the  blow  it  then  received,  any  thing  like  the  power  of 
persecution  on  the  part  of  the  Papacy  has  been  destroyed.  Its 
principles  remain — its  ability  only  is  broken.  If,  however,  you 
begin  to  count  the  1260  years  from  the  time  when  the  pope  first 
put  forth  his  claim  to  be  universal  bishop,  A.  D.  256,  this  calcu- 


THE   PAPACY.  233 

lation  would  bring  you  down  to  the  year  1517;  when  the  Re- 
formation began,  and  the  Papal  power  was  broken.  Taking  either 
of  these  two  epochs — and  either  of  them  may  be  the  right  one — 
from  either  1517  or  1792,  the  power  of  the  Papacy  to  persecute 
has  practically  and  substantially  ceased.  And  if  this  be  the  case, 
the  fears  of  some  Protestants  that  the  pope  will  again  get  the 
upper  hand  in  England,  and  that  he  will  sway  our  sceptre,  and 
occupy  our  throne,  and  direct  our  parliaments,  are  in  my  humble 
opinion,  perfectly  absurd.  If  there  be  truth  in  the  propositions  I 
have  stated,  then  there  is  not  the  possibility  of  such  an  event, 
for  God  has  said  that  the  saints  should  be  given  into  his  hand 
for  1260  years.  Those  years,  I  think,  have  expired,  at  the  ear- 
liest in  1517,  at  the  latest  in  1792;  and  therefore,  whatever 
temporary  success  the  Papal  power  may  attain  in  England — 
whatever  proselytes  it  may  make  from  the  Tractarian  clergy — 
whatever  adherents  it  may  gather  from  the  tainted  laity — I  do 
not  believe  that  the  papal  power  will  ever  attain  political  ascend- 
ency in  England.  I  do  not  think  there  is  the  remotest  possi- 
bility of  it. 

But  I  do  not  dwell  longer  upon  this.  I  draw  two  or  three 
practical  lessons,  which  will  perhaps  be  more  useful.  First,  then, 
predictions  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  Papacy  are  given,  in 
order  to  be  to  us  increasing  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  word  of 
God.  I  have  shown  you  that  a  perpetual  miracle  would  destroy 
itself  The  present  miracle  is  that  the  grass  grows  in  spring  and 
withers  in  autumn.  If  it  were  to  be  reversed,  and  grass  were  to 
grow  in  autumn  and  wither  in  spring,  whatever  God  ordained 
would  be  found  to  be  the  natural  thing.  The  present  law  is,  that 
the  dead  are  buried  and  do  not  rise ;  but  if  it  had  been  the  ex- 
perience of  eighteen  centuries  that  the  dead  should  rise  twelve 
months  after  their  burial,  we  should  pronounce  it  to  be  no  miracle, 
but  the  natural  law  or  order  of  things.  The  miracles  that  we 
see  around  us  are  the  springing  of  the  grass,  the  blooming  of  the 
flowers — the  productions  of  the  earth.  All  these  things  are  just 
as  much  results  of  the  touch  of  God  as  the  turning  of  the  water 
into  wine,  the  raising  of  the  dead  Lazarus,  or  the  feeding  of  the 
five  thousand  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes ;  only  we  are  so  ac- 
customed to  these  phenomena,  that  we  call  them,  in  our  language, 

20* 


234  rROPIIETlC    STUDIES. 

^^  the  laws  of  nature/'  and  frequently  forget  that  they  are  the 
evidences  of  the  presence  of  God.  But  jDrophecy  is  not  liable  to 
this  objection  :  it  is  a  miracle  of  accumulative  power.  The  evi- 
dence becomes  stronger  every  day  of  the  origin  and  inspiration 
of  the  Bible :  one  brings  a  city  like  Nineveh,  pale  and  ghastly 
from  its  grave ;  another  discovers  some  great  phenomenon  in  dis- 
tant lands,  or  another  brings  from  science  some  new  and  hidden 
fact  that  men  have  never  detected  before,  or  discovers  some  new 
medical  power  that  hco.rs  a  relation  to  the  curse,  and  seems  to  be 
an  instalment  of  the  day  when  that  curse  shall  be  transformed 
into  a  blessing — we  have  all  these  growing  and  accumulating 
proofs  of  the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  and  that 
holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
And  thus  the  longer  the  Bible  continues  to  give,  by  the  fulfilment 
of  its  prophecies,  accumulating  evidence  of  the  inspiration  of  God, 
the  clearer  will  be  our  convictions  that  the  Bible  is  true. 

Another  reason,  perhaps,  why  the  prophecies  were  given,  is  to 
show  the  perfect  harmony  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New.  Read  the  records  of  Daniel  which  he  wrote  in  Babylon ; 
read  the  Apocalypse  of  John  recorded  by  him  in  Patmos,  and  you 
find  that  the  facts,  the  historic  facts  that  they  preintimated,  are 
substantially  the  same  :  and  that  Daniel  and  John  were  both 
taught  from  the  same  wisdom,  inspired  by  the  same  God,  and 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  same  holy  influence. 

Another  reason  why  God  has  so  largely  depicted  in  Daniel,  so 
minutely  described  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  so  vividly  sketched  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  the  great  Papal  power  that  was 
to  arise,  was  that  ^^  forewarned,  we  might  be  forearmed. '^  And, 
if  ever  there  was  a  day  when  it  was  needful  to  disclose  a  system 
Vv^hose  spires  sparkle  in  the  rays  of  rising  and  of  setting  suns, 
but  underneath  which  are  dungeons  so  dark  and  dens  so  cruel,  it 
is  surely  in  a  day  when  the  rush,  and  current  of  the  religious 
movement  of  the  age  seems  all  to  be  rolling  and  hastening  toward 
Babylon.  I  heard  Mr.  Newman,  the  most  distinguished  convert 
that  Ptome  has  recently  made,  arguing,  and  in  eloquent  and  im- 
pressive terms,  with  those  who  are  called  Anglicans ;  and  he  as- 
sumed the  ground  which  the  Church  of  Rome  has  so  repeatedly 
marked  out,  maintaining  the  doctrine  of  a  perpetually  visible 


THE   PAPACY.  285 

church,  which  might  fall  into  incidental  errors,  but  by  no  possi- 
bility into  absolute  apostasy;  and  I  declare  that  if  I  believed  that 
dogma,  I  should,  after  having  heard  his  argument,  feel  it  my  duty 
to  leave  the  Church  of  Scotland  or  the  Church  of  Enii'land,  and 
to  join  the  Church  of  Rome.  His  reasoning,  as  addressed  to 
Messrs.  Maskell,  and  Bennet  was  irresistible.  There  is  no  ground 
that  you  can  stand  on  but  this — Evangelical  religion,  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Bible,  the  religion  and  the  cement  of  the  saints  of 
God,  or,  the  Church  of  Rome — not  a  corrupt  church,  but  the  Ba- 
bylon of  the  Apocalypse,  the  great  apostasy  that  is  delineated 
here  and  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  If  the  Church  of 
Rome  be  only  a  corrupt,  reformable  church,  the  reformers  ought 
to  have  remained  in  it  and  tried  to  make  it  better :  but  they  felt 
it  what  Luther  maintained  it  to  be,  that  it  was  the  Babylon  of 
prophecy,  and  heard  sounding  in  their  ears  the  commission  of  their 
God,  "Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers 
of  her  plagues.^'  I  do  not  wonder  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
practically  prohibits  the  perusal,  or  at  least  the  interpretation  of 
the  Bible.  It  contains  her  own  picture  so  plainly,  so  vividly,  so 
unmistakably  sketched,  that  if  she  allowed  the  Bible  to  be  read, 
he  that  runs  would  read  that  picture,  and  fasten  the  brand  where 
the  spirit  of  God  has  fastened  it  eighteen  centuries  ago — on  her. 
Take  care  then,  in  these  days,  of  any  approach  to  that  system. 
Your  dogmas  of  apostolical  personal  succession — baptismal  re- 
generation— a  perpetually  visible  church — these  are  the  postulates 
that  Mr.  Newman  asks.  Grant  him  these,  and  the  pope  will  hold 
Saint  Paul's  and  Westminster  Abbey  in  a  few  very  years.  I  repeat 
it  again,  my  dear  friends,  the  only  ground  on  which  we  can  stand, 
is  this,  that  the  Bible  alone  is  the  rule  of  faith — that  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone  is  the  article  of  a  standing  church — tliat  re- 
generation by  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  is  the  article  of  a  living 
church.  Without  this  justification  by  faith,  there  is  a  fallen 
church.  Without  this  regeneration  by  the  Spirit,  there  is  a  dead 
church.  Concede  these,  and  you  may,  without  any  great  sacri- 
fice, and  consistently  enough,  concede  all  points  besides.  Never 
forget,  then,  my  dear  friends,  that  the  great  safety  of  the  people 
of  God  is  cleaving  to  the  Bible;  and  that  the  great  secret  of  the 
apostasy  of  Rome  is,  the  elevating  of  human  authority  into  the 


236  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

place  of  God.  Here  is  just  tlie  whole  spring  and  source  of  the 
mischief.  Remember  this^  that  neither  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  nor  the  House  of  Commons  of  Great 
Britain,  nor  the  Convocation,  is  any  authority  with  me  as  to  what 
I  am  to  believe.  Neither  the  Bishop  of  Exeter  in  the  one,  nor 
our  0W41  beloved  and  gracious  queen  in  the  other,  constitute  the 
rule  of  faith.  It  is  not  the  Bible  explained  by  the  bishop,  nor  the 
Bible  explained  by  the  presbytery,  but  the  Bible  alone,  that  is 
the  rule  of  faith  of  all  true  Christians.  Once  concede  that  you 
are  to  look  at  the  Bible  through  the  lens  of  the  presbytery,  or 
through  the  telescope  of  the  bishop,  and  you  give  up  your  great 
and  strongest  citadel,  and  you  are  sure  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  Cleave,  then,  to  that  blessed  book  as  your  only  rule 
of  faith — the  arsenal  of  the  soldiers  of  Christ — the  armoury  of 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High.  The  oracles  of  God  are  as  fresh 
and  beautiful  as  when  first  taken,  like  a  leaf  from  the  tree  of  life, 
and  committed  to  the  nations.  The  Bible  is  a  lamp  ever  bright, 
a  light  ever  sure.  And  be  not  satisfied  with  holding  the  Bible  in 
your  hand ;  hold  it  also  in  your  heart.  We  are  strong,  not  by 
possession  of  the  Bible  as  a  book,  but  by  the  embodiment  of  the 
Bible  as  a  living,  plastic,  regulating  faith.  It  is  God's  truth 
ivithin  us,  not  God's  truth  without  us,  that  is  the  strength  of 
Christians,  the  safety  of  the  saints  of  God.  Show,  then,  to  the 
Church  of  Rome — show  to  the  world  at  large,  that  we  have  a 
succession  that  never  fails — the  succession  of  the  sons  of  God ; 
that  we  have  a  religion  which  is  ever  beautiful,  and  mighty  to 
make  us  holy  and  to  make  us  happy — a  religion  that  is  not  meat, 
nor  drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Seek  to  show  your  missionary  spirit  by  difi"using  this 
faith ;  and  leave  not  the  sisters  of  charity,  so  active  in  our  streets, 
or  the  long-robed  priests  of  the  Oratory,  so  busy  in  every  place 
into  which  they  can  gain  admission,  to  eclipse  or  excel  you  in 
ministering  to  the  wants  of  your  fellow-men,  and  in  spreading 
this  blessed  gospel  among  those  who  are  ignorant  of  it.  The 
great  defence  against  Puseyism  and  Popery  is — living  religion. 
Be  Christians,  and  Rome  will  feel  it.  Be  orthodox  in  head,  but 
cold  and  unsanctified  in  heart  and  inactive  in  life,  and  Rome  will 
not  only  rejoice,  but  gain.     Let  us  bless  God  that  we  know  this 


THE    PAPACY.  '     237 

—that  however  that  dark  system  may  spread  for  a  little  its 
mightiest  triumphs  are  the  precursors  of  its  greatest  downfall. 
God's  judgments  on  Kome  have  already  begun— Babylon  is  now 
drinking  of  the  cup  of  the  indignation  of  God;  and  all  her 
boasted  triumphs  are  but  the  instalments,  as  it  were,  or  fore- 
tokens of  her  speedy  downfall.  She  is  only  gathering  together 
all  her  forces,  till  the  earth  shall  explode  from"  beneath,  and  the 
heavens  rain  floods  of  fire  from  above,  and  great  Babylon  shall 
perish  like  a  ship  foundering  at  sea.  We  rejoice  not  at  the  suf- 
ferings of  any:  but  yet  we  cannot  but  join  with  saints  that  are 
in  heaven  and  angels  that  are  round  the  throne,  in  giving  glory 
to  God  that  the  great  waster  of  the  earth  is  about  to  be  removed ; 
and  that  the  Jews,  his  ancient  heritage,  have  heard  his  voice  and 
are  soon  to  come  back;  and  that  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  has 
nearly  arrived,  and  "the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  soon  to  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  God  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall 
reign  for  ever  and  ever.'^     Amen. 


238 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE     COMING      KINGDOM. 

"  I  belield  till  the  thrones  were  cast  clown,  and  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit, 
whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure 
wool :  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire  .  .  . 
And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  gloiy,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people, 
nations,  and  languages  should  serve  him  :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  do- 
minion, which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be 
destroyed  .  .  .  Until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  judgment  was  given  to 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High  ,•  and  the  time  came  that  the  saints  possessed  the 
kingdom  .  .  .  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  do- 
minion, to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end.  And  the  kingdom  and  do- 
minion, and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be 
given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him." — Daniel  vii.  9, 
14,  22,  26,  27. 

The  first  fact  that  is  here  worthy  of  notice  is  the  consump- 
tion, or  the  wasting  away,  of  that  power  which  is  called  the  ^Hit- 
tie  horn.^^  I  have  identified  this  power  with  the  Papacy,  by,  I 
think,  irresistible  evidence.  There  is  here  a  clear  intimation, 
that  in  the  first  instance  it  shall  be  gradually  wasted  or  consumed 
till  it  is  all  but  exhausted  by  the  wasting  influence  of  a  power 
without  it;  and  next,  that  after  it  has  undergone  a  series  of  suc- 
cessive wastings  or  consumptions,  it  shall  then  be  utterly  and 
signally  destroyed,  and  its  body  given  to  the  devouring  flame. 
In  this  description  of  Daniel,  one  cannot  but  notice  the  basis  of 
the  predictions  of  St.  Paul  respecting  the  man  of  sin,  and  so  far 
the  evidence  of  his  acquaintance  with  the  book  of  Daniel.  In 
2  Thcss.  ii.  we  have  a  description  of  a  power  that  should  ''  sit  in 
the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were  God:"  that 
power  which  he  calls  '^the  mystery  of  iniquity,"  which  was  so 
soon  to  be  developed,  and  of  which  he  foretells  the  end. 


THE   COMING   KINGDOM.  239 

'^Then  shall  that  wicked  one  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord 
shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth :"  that  is  the  first 
stage;  and  then  utterly  "destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his 
coming.'^  You  have  thus  the  very  events  predicted  by  St.  Paul, 
clearly  indicated  by  Daniel  long  before.  Both  prophets  drew 
from  a  common  fountain.  Daniel  states  that  "the  judgment 
shall  sit/^  that  they  shall  take  away  the  dominion  of  the  little 
horn,  to  consume  it,  and  then  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end."  St. 
Paul  on  this  subject  utters  predictions  which  are  completely  the 
echo  of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel ;  not  that  the  one  transcribed  the 
predictions  of  the  other,  but  that  both  were  inspired  by  the  same 
Spirit,  foresaw  the  rise  of  the  same  dread  and  destructive  super- 
stition, and  predicted,  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
first  its  gradual  decay — a  decay  that  is  now  obvious  in  every 
land — and,  lastly,  its  final  and  irretrievable  de<struction  by  the 
brightness  of  the  Redeemer's  coming. 

We  cannot  but  see,  in  the  next  place,  that  the  utter  destnic- 
tion  of  "  the  false  prophet'^  is  not  pi'ior  but  subsequent  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  "Ancient  of  days,''  or  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  We  see  the  thrones  set;  we  see  the  Ancient  of 
days  arrayed  in  his  garments,  white  as  snow — thousands  of  at- 
tendant angels  -ministering  before  him;  and  "after  this,"  says 
the  prophet,  "  I  beheld  theii  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great 
words  which  the  horn  spake :  I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was 
slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  devouring  flame.''' 
And  so,  in  verse  26,  where  it  is  explained,  "The  judgment  shall 
sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  dominion,  to  consume  and  to 
destroy  it  unto  the  end."  It  therefore  appears  to  me  that,  first, 
the  Lord  shall  come,  and  next,  the  Papacy  shall  be  finally  de- 
stroyed. I  do  not  believe  that  the  Church  of  Rome  will  be 
swept  away  utterly,  except  by  Christ's  immediate  personal  reve- 
lation. All  Scripture  seems  to  me  clearly  to  indicate  this.  Her 
consumption,  in  fact,  is  now  going  on;  and  soon,  as  soon  as  the 
Lord  comes,  the  final  destruction  of  the  system,  and  of  all  that 
cleave  to  it,  by  what  the  apostle  calls,  "  brightness  of  the  Re- 
deemer's coming,"  shall  be  signally  accomplished.  So  we  read 
of  the  stone  that  first  smites  the  image  upon  its  ten  toes,  or  the 
ten  kingdoms;  and  then  the  God  of  heaven  sets  up  a  kingdom 


240  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

whicli  sliall  not  be  destroyed  or  be  left  to  otlier  people,  but  wblch 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  other  kingdoms,  and  it 
shall  stand  for  ever.  There  is,  first,  the  revelation  of  the  stone, 
i.  e.  the  second  coming  of  Christ;  then  there  is  the  destruction 
of  ail  hostile  dominions  or  empires,  and,  among  others,  that  of 
the  Roman  apostasy  also.  So  here  it  is,  after  the  advent,  that 
the  beast  "  was  slain,  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  de- 
vouring flame.'' 

Now  notice  how  parallel  this  runs  with  the  description  of  our 
Lord's  advent  in  2  Thess.  i.  7:  "To  j^ou  who  are  troubled  rest 
with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven 
with  his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on 
them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ :  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  de- 
struction from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power;  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and 
to  be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe."  You  see  how  perfectly 
one  passage  responds  to  the  other.  First  of  all,  there  is  to  be 
the  revelation  of  Christ,  as  the  apostle  says;  next,  he  is  to 
"take  vengeance  in  flaming  fire  on  them  that  know  not  God  and 
obey  not  the  gospel :"  or,  according  to  Daniel,  this  beast,  or 
false  prophet,  or  anti-christian  horn,  is  to  be  committed  to  the 
burning  flame;  or,  as  St.  John  tells  us,  in  the  Apocalypse, 
"she,"  i.  e.  "the  great  whore,"  is  to  be  burned,  and  "the  smoke 
of  her  torment  shall  ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever."  This  iden- 
tity of  language,  so  specific  in  every  case,  cannot  be  accidental; 
it  is  the  coincidence  of  men  who  were  inspired  by  the  same 
Spirit,  and  who  proclaim  the  same  grand  events, — the  destruc- 
tion of  the  apostasy  by  the  personal  ajDpearance  of  the  Lord,  the 
glorifying  of  all  that  believe  and  are  found,  when  he  comes, 
"  looking  for  him  the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation," 
and  his  being  "  admired  in  all  them  that  believe,"  and  "  glori- 
fied by  his  saints." 

Such  is  the  blessed  hope  that  is  set  before  us  in  the  gospel. 
Such  is  the  prospect  that  we  have,  that  all  that  is  hostile  to  the 
Lord  of  glory  shall  be  utterly  destroyed,  and  that  the  truth  in 
all  its  purity  shall  prevail,  and  overflow  the  human  fiunily  from 
sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.     It  is 


THE   COMING   KINGDOM.  241 

thus  that  those  who  look  for  the  utter  destruction  of  Rome  be- 
fore Christ  comes  look  for  a  vain  thing.  It  will  last  till  he 
comes.  It  spans  the  chasm  between  Christ's  first  and  second 
advent;  it  will  be  weakened  by  the  force  of  the  preintimatory 
strokes  of  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands;  it  will  be  consumed 
by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  it  will  be  exhausted  by  the  hos- 
tility of  a  thousand  kings  who  once  were  charmed  with  its  gran- 
deur, and  made  drunk  with  the  cup  of  its  intoxication;  but  it 
will  only  be  utterly  and  completely  destroyed  and  broken  up  by 
the  brightness  of  the  Redeemer's  coming. 

This  leads  me  to  notice  those  passages  I  have  read,  which 
announce  his  coming.  We  have,  in  verse  9,  a  most  sublime 
description:  ^' I  beheld  till  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit,  whose 
garment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  the 
pure  wool;  his  throne  was  like  the  fieiy  flame,  and  his  wheels  as 
burning  fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before 
him:  thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him:  the  judgment  was 
set,  and  the  books  were  opened."  This  is  plainly  not  the  last 
judgment,  for  it  precedes  the  destruction  of  antichrist;  it  is  a 
judgment  previous  to  the  last,  described,  as  I  shall  show. you,  in 
other  parts  of  Scripture.  But  the  first  question  is,  who  is  the 
^^Ancient  of  days?"  Some  think  it  is  a  description  of  God  the 
Father;  but  it  is  never  to  be  forgotten  that  there  is  not  from  the 
commencement  of  the  Bible  to  its  close  any  portrait,  even  in 
words,  of  the  appearance  to  human  eye  of  God  the  Father.  He 
is  spoken  of  as  ''dwelling  in  light  inaccessible  and  full  of  glory;" 
as  ''the  God  whom  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see;"  and  there  is 
nothing  like  a  picture  for  the  eye  given  of  God  the  Father. 
Just  in  the  same  manner,  there  is  nothing  in  Scripture  like  a 
portrait  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  nothing  is  to  my  mind  more 
revolting  than  to  see  a  dove  set  forth  as  if  it  were  the  scriptural 
symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  know  the  passage  on  which  the 
idea  is  founded,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended upon  Jesus  "like  a  dove:"  but  everyone  who  knows 
the  construction  of  the  Greek  language,  and  will  be  at  the  trou- 
ble to  consult  the  original,  will  see  that  it  is  not  said  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  descended  '^  in  the  form  of  a  dove;"  there  is  con- 

21 


242  PIlOPIIETiC  STUDIES. 

veyed  no  sucli  meaning;  but  that  '^he  descended  as  a  dove  de- 
scends/^ i.e.  with  a  fluttering,  rapid  movement  of  a  dove;  and 
for  this  purpose  other  birds  might  probably  have  been  selected 
with  equally  expressive  justice,  in  order  to  denote  the  idea  in- 
tended. There  is  no  picture  of  God  the  Father  recorded  in  the 
Bible  to  have  been  seen  by  man;  nor  is  there  any  picture  or 
similitude  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost :  there  is  a  portrait  of  Him 
who  is  '^God  manifest  in  the  flesh,''  '^seen  of  angels,"  ^'justified 
in  the  Spirit/'  ^^ believed  on  in  the  world/'  and  finally,  ^'re- 
ceived up  into  glory."  This  is  to  be  expected.  If  this  then  be 
so,  I  think  the  inference  is  just,  that  the  Ancient  of  days — 
great  as  may  be  the  difiiculty  on  this  hypothesis  of  reconciling  this 
with  the  statement  in  ver.  13 — is  none  else  than  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  That  I  am  justified  in  making  this  assertion,  seems  to 
me  plain  from  the  corresponding  statement  in  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation, where  a  description,  analogous  if  not  identical,  is  given  of 
our  blessed  Lord  avowedly  and  by  name.  First,  ''He  cometli  in 
the  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him."  Then  says  John, 
"I  turned  to  see  the  voice  which  spake  with  me.  And  in  the 
midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man, 
clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps 
with  a  golden  girdle.  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like 
wool,  as  white  as  snow;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire; 
and  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace; 
and  his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters.  And  he  had  in  his 
right  hand  seven  stars:  and  out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp 
two-edged  sword :  and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in 
his  strength,"  Now  see  what  Daniel  says  of  the  Ancient  of  days : 
"His  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like 
the  pure  wool:  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his 
Avheels  as  burning  fire." 

Is  not  the  sketch  given  by  John  as  it  were  a  reflection  of  the 
sketch  by  Daniel  ?  are  not  these  substantial  features  of  identity  ? 
and  is  not  the  inference  at  least  highly  probable,  that  the  being 
described  by  the  one  is  delineated  by  the  other ;  and  that  in  the 
picture  of  Daniel  it  was  Jesus  Christ  in  one  of  those  frequently 
occurring  anthropomorphic  manifestations  of  himself  prior  to  his 
incarnation  ?     If  so,  how  clear  the  assertion  of  his  deity  as  the 


THE   COMING   KINGDOM.  243 

p 

Ancient  of  days  with  a  garment  white  as  snow,  and  before  whom 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  stood  and  ministered  ! 

Another  reason  why  I  conclude  that  this  is  not  a  representation 
of  God  the  Father,  is  the  following  : — The  Father  is  never  spoken 
of  as  coming  to  judge  the  world  :  '^  He  has  committed  all  judg- 
ment unto  the  Son.''  We  must  appear,  not  "  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat" of  God  the  Father,  but  before  "  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ.''  And  every  prediction  in  the  New  Testament  leads  us 
to  suppose  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  judge,  and  appointed 
to  be  so,  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  The  only  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  this  interpretation  is  the  statement  contained  in  ver.  13  : 
"  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man 
came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days, 
and  the}^  brought  him  near  before  him."  Herein  is  the  difficulty, 
because  the  portrait  of  this  first-mentioned  personage  is  unques- 
tionably that  of  our  blessed  Lord.  If  so,  how  can  he  be  said  to 
be  "  brought  before  the  Ancient  of  days  ?"  I  admit  and  feel  the 
difficulty.  I  cannot  explain  it :  I  have  not  yet  discovered  what 
will  be  discovered — the  solution  of  these  words :  but  it  is  plain 
enough  that  the  Son  of  man  is  the  portrait  of  the  Saviour.  It 
appears  to  me  scarcely  less  plain  that  the  other  passage  is  a  por- 
trait of  the  Saviour  also.  The  two  may  be  portraits  of  the  Saviour 
in  his  different  aspects:  one  as  the  absolute  God;  the  other  as  the 
incarnate  Man :  one  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Ancient  of  days ;  the 
other  as  the  Son  of  man,  born  of  the  Virgin,  crucified  for  us,  and 
for  our  salvation.  That  ver.  13  gives  the  picture  of  the  Saviour, 
is  plain ;  for  it  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  imagery  used  by  the 
apostles  to  denote  him  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his 
saints.  Parallel  passages,  corroborative  of  this,  are  to  be  found  in 
Matt.  xxiv.  30  :  "And  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
man  in  heaven."  "  Then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn, 
and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
in  power  and  great  glory."  We  have  the  same  picture  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  64,  where  he  himself  says,  "  Hereafter  shall  ye  sec  the  Sou 
of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,"  (answering  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,)  "and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven:"  and 
in  Kev.  i.  7,  we  have  the  same  picture  again  placed  before  us : 
"Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds;  and  every  eye  shall  see  him." 


244  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

And  in  Acts  vii.  55,  56,  we  have  tlie  very  same  picture  as  seen 
by  Stephen,  when,  '^  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  looked  up 
into  heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the 
right  hand  of  God,  and  said.  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened, 
and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God." 

We  thus  then  see,  first,  the  picture  of  Christ  as  the  Ancient  of 
days;  next  we  see  him  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with 
power  and  great  glory  : — the  first,  his  essential  deity ;  the  second, 
his  mediatorial  character ;  and  immediateli/  after,  we  perceive, 
"  there  was  given  him  his  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages  should  serve  him  :  his 
dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away, 
and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed.'^  I  wish 
you  to  notice  this  fact :  our  Lord  first  descends  from  heaven  borne 
upon  the  clouds,  and  appears  upon  the  earth ;  next,  and  imme- 
diately after  this  manifestation  of  himself,  the  saints  take  posses- 
sion of  the  kingdoms  under  the  whole  heaven.  ^'  All  people,  and 
nations,  and  kingdoms,"  it  is  here  said,  '^  shall  serve  him." 
Chronologically  viewed,  the  order  of  proceeding  is  this :  Christ 
comes  first,  Christ's  foes  are  depressed  and  destroyed  next,  and 
the  Millennium  is  immediately  established  upon  earth.  If  this 
event,  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian  apostasy,  be  the  first 
thing  that  takes  place  immediately  after  Christ's  second  advent, 
then  the  inference  seems  to  me  plain,  whatever  may  be  the  diffi- 
culties that  beset  it,  that  the  Millennium  is  not  the  dawn  that 
ushers  in  Christ,  but  that  Christ  is  the  sun  emerging  from  be- 
neath the  horizon,  whose  noonday  beams  constitute  that  full 
millennial  light  and  unshaded  glory  which  shall  overflow  the 
whole  habitable  globe.  It  is  impossible  that  all  these  descriptions 
should  be  merely  figurative.  It  is  too  plainly  expressed — too 
clearly  taught  in  the  language  of  the  New  Testament — too  direct 
and  historical  in  its  tone  and  bearing,  to  be  considered  as  a  mere, 
figurative  delineation  of  a  great  providential  event,  which  leads 
to  the  destruction  of  the  man  of  sin  and  to  the  establishment  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  And  if  there  were  any  difficulty  or  mis- 
take about  it,  surely  it  is  cleared  up  by  such  a  passage  as  that 
contained  in  Acts  i.  9  :  '^  When  Christ  had  spoken  these  things 
unto  the  apostles,  behold,"  it  is  added.  ''  he  was  taken  up  into 


THE  COMING    KINGDOM.  045 

heaven,  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight/'  You  re- 
collect the  apocalyptic  picture  is,  "  Behold,  he  cometh  with 
clouds;"  ^^then  shall  ye  see  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven/'  Thus  when  Christ  ascended  into  hea- 
ven, after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  the  phraseology  em- 
ployed to  denote  that  ascension  is,  that  ^'  a  cloud  received  him 
out  of  their  sight;"  and  then,  at  ver.  10,  we  are  told,  that  "while 
they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up,  behold,  two 
men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel ;  which  also  said.  Ye  men 
of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  this  same  Jesus, 
which  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like 
manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  He  was  taken  up 
to  heaven  in  a  cloud  :  the  prediction  uttered  by  the  angel  was, 
that  he  should  come  exactly  in  the  same  manner ;  and  therefore 
the  event  that  Christians  are  to  anticipate  as  the  brightest,  the 
holiest,  and  the  most  precious  that  can  occur,  is,  the  second  ap- 
pearance of  him  who  left  us  in  the  cloud  to  plead  at  the  Father's 
right  hand,  and  who  shall  come  again  in  all  the  pomp  and 
grandeur  of  the  Ancient  of  days,  seated  upon  the  clouds  as  his 
chariot,  in  form  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  consuming  with  ever- 
lasting fire  the  false  jjrophets,  the  beast,  and  the  apostasy;  takin<T 
vengeance  upon  all  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the 
gospel ;  and  to  be  admired  in  the  saints  that  have  been  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  gathered  from  the  ranks  of  the  living,  and  consti- 
tuting that  happy  and  blessed  consummation  when  the  bridegroom 
shall  have  come  and  the  bride  shall  have  made  herself  ready. 

We  gather  then  from  all  this,  after  careful  comparison  and  ana- 
lysis, that  Christ  shall  come  with  the  speed  and  brilliancy  of  the 
lightning  upon  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  at  a  moment  when  the 
world  shall  be  asking  in  scorn.  Where  is  the  promise  of  his 
coming  ?  and  that  lightning  flame  which  precedes  the  chariot  on 
which  he  comes  shall  penetrate  every  grave,  until  each  saint  that 
has  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  shall  feel  the  reflux  of  a  new  life,  and 
bone  shall  be  joined  to  bone,  and  sinew  to  sinew,  and  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  rise  first.  The  despised  and  rejected  of  men  will 
appear  as  the  Ancient  of  days — the  crucified  between  two  thieves 
shall  be  seen  coming  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.     What  a  piercing  cry  shall  rise  from  the  lost  as  they  be- 

21- 


246  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

hold  him  whom  they  have  pierced ! — in  what  bitter  language 
shall  they  mourn  !  What  an  exulting  shout  of  victory  and  of 
gratulation  shall  roll  from  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
tongues,  '^  Lo,  this  is  our  God  !  v/e  have  waited  for  him  :  blessed 
is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord/^ 

Immediately  after  this  revelation  of  the  Ancient  of  days,  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  shall  be  established  upon  earth.  A  kingdom 
is  given  him — an  everlasting  dominion — a  dominion  that  shall 
not  pass  away.  This  is  the  same  kingdom  which  is  described  in 
the  last  two  chapters  of  the  Revelation,  under  the  emblem  of  the 
new  Jerusalem  that  cometh  down  from  heaven  :  that  kingdom 
whose  constituent  elements  are  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy; 
whose  subjects  are  kings,  and  priests,  and  saints  :  a  kingdom  in 
which  present  political  greatness  shall  have  no  place }  in  wbich 
great  wealth  shall  have  no  welcome ;  into  which  nothing  that  de- 
fileth  shall  enter,  but  only  they  who  have  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

The  ninth  verse  indicates  also  that  those  saints  who  rise  w^ith 
Christ  shall  sit  upon  thrones.  For  the  language  of  ver.  9  is,  ''I 
beheld  until  the  thrones  were  cast  down.^-*  There  is  but  one  who 
is  to  reign  absolutely,  the  Ancient  of  days ;  then  how  do  we  ex- 
plain the  appearance  of  many  "  thrones  ?"  This  might  be  inex- 
plicable, if  we  had  not  parallel  passages  to  show  its  meaning. 
One  of  these  is  found  in  Luke  xxii.  30,  where  we  find  these 
words :  "  That  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  king- 
dom, judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  So,  Matt.  xix.  28  : 
^'  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  That  ye  which  have  followed  me,  in  the 
regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel.'^  And  this  identifies  the  description  with  the 
description  of  the  Ancient  of  days  in  ver.  9  of  this  chapter.  And 
that  this  is  not  a  deduction  from  a-  solitary  or  an  isolated  passage, 
is  plain  from  another  description  in  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3  :  '^  Do  ye 
not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world?  .  .  .  know 
ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  angels  V  I  next  turn  to  Rev.  xx.,  at 
the  description  of  the  very  commencement  of  the  Millenuium, — 
not  after  it,  recollect — (and  this  shows  that  the  Ancient  of  days, 
as  described  in  ver.  9,  comes  before  the  Millennium.)     At  ver.  4 


THE   COMING   KINGDO^NI.  247 

of  that  chapter  we  have  the  words,  ''I  saw  thrones^'  with  which 
compare  the  words  of  Daniel,  "and  the  thrones  were  set," — "and 
they  sat  upon  them/'  Who  sat  uj^on  them  ?  Those  that  were 
raised  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years : — "  and  judg- 
ment was  given  unto  them :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  which 
were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image, 
neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their 
hands ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 
But  the  rest  of  the  dead,''  i.  c,  the  unconverted,  the  unregene- 
rated  dead,  those  that  had  the  mark  of  the  beast  upon  their  fore- 
heads and  had  worshipped  the  beast — "  lived  not  again  until  the 
thousand  years  were  finished.'^ 

Now,  put  all  these  passages  together,  study  them  at  your  lei- 
sure, and  they  Avill  prove,  I  think,  irresistibly,  that  ver.  9  of  this 
chapter  of  Daniel,  which  describes  the  Ancient  of  days  as  com- 
ing in  the  clouds  of  heaven  to  judge  the  world  and  to  receive  a 
dominion  and  a  kingdom,  is  a  delineation  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  coming  prior  to  the  millennial  reign;  and  the  saints  who 
%re  raised  from  the  dead  and  gathered  from  the  living  who  are 
found  alive  at  that  day,  shall,  as  a  mark  of  the  esteem  and  aifec- 
tion  of  their  Lord,  be  placed  on  thrones  beside  the  Saviour  him- 
self, and  concur  with  him  in  the  judgment  of  all  flesh.  There 
is  nothing  strange  or  unreasonable  in  supposing  that  Christians 
will  thus  become  the  assessors  of  Christ;  that  they  will  express 
an  Amen  to  his  judgment,  and  sympathize  with  him  in  all  his 
just  and  righteous  decisions,  then  and  there  seen  and  felt  to 
be  so. 

In  the  next  place,  we  read  that  the  character  of  those  who 
shall  occupy  this  kingdom  will  be  "saints;"  but  that  their 
worldly  aspect  is  to  be  "kingdoms,  and  languages,  and  people." 
This  shows  us  that  after  the  Ancient  of  days  has  come — after 
the  thrones  have  been  set — after  the  Son  of  man  has  been 
revealed  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, — all  nations,  people,  and  lan- 
guages existing  in  all  their  diversity,  and  with  all  their  distinc- 
tions, but  individually  and  morally  saints,  though  circumstantially 
nations,  shall  constitute  that  empire  of  peace  and  joy,  over 
which  he  shall  reign  in  glory  and  in  beauty.     If  this  be  so,  na- 


248  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

tions  will  exist  in  the  millennial  reign.  Perhaps  all  the  dis- 
tinctions that  separate  nation  from  nation  shall  be  perpetuated 
then;  but,  while  they  have  different  colours  and  complexions 
then  as  now — while  they  speak  different  tongues  as  they  do 
now, — they  shall  have  one  grand  characteristic  in  common, 
they  shall  be  the  saints  of  Grod,  the  sons  of  the  Most  High — 
Asia,  Africa,  America,  and  Europe,  shall  all  be  baptized  by 
one  Spirit,  and  washed  in  one  fountain,  and  have  in  their 
hearts  the  image,  the  likeness,  and  the  superscription  of  the 
Lamb.  Flower  will  still  differ  from  flower,  star  from  star,  coun- 
try from  country;  there  will  be  all  variety  of  modes,  all  diversity 
of  circumstance,  but  perfect  unity  of  moral  and  spiritual  charac- 
ter, united  and  consolidated  in  Christ,  and  gathered  round  him 
to  worship  and  adore  him  as  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person — the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, the  Lamb  slain.  Then  Christians  whose  complexion  is 
white  shall  be  ashamed  that  they  have  ever  looked  with  con- 
tempt on  Christians  whose  faces  are  not  so.  Then  the  Ameri- 
can Christian  who  would  refuse  to  approach  the  communion 
table  in  the  company  of  the  Christian  black,  will  find  that  he"* 
with  whom  he  would  not  partake  of  the  symbol  upon  earth  is  a 
fellow-partaker  with  him  of  the  substance  in  glory;  and  he  shall 
wonder,  if  not  grieve,  that  he  was  ever  tempted  to  make  so  fool- 
ish and  sinful  a  distinction  where  were  the  common  law,  the 
common  faith,  and  the  common  Father,  and  one  Spirit  animat- 
ing and  sustaining  the  hearts  of  both.  Then  nations  that  war- 
red with  each  other  shall  wonder  that  they  did  so.  Then  perhaps 
the  buried  dead  of  Waterloo  shall  start  to  their  feet;  the  last 
sounds  they  recollected  upon  earth  were  the  roar  of  artillery, 
the  roll  of  the  victorious  drum,  the  cries  of  the  wounded  and  the 
dying;  and  the  first  sounds  they  shall  hear  at  that  day  shall  be 
the  trumpet  of  judgment,  and  the  songs  of  the  saved,  and  the 
curses  of  the  lost,  and  the  voice  of  Jesus  saying,  "Arise,  ye 
dead,  and  come  to  judgment!"  And  how  shall  the  French 
Christian  marvel  that  he  ever  consented  to  destroy  the  British 
Christian  in  battle,  or  that  man  ever  wielded  against  man  any 
other  than  spiritual  weapons ! 

Languages  also  shall  exist   in    that  day:    for  there  shall  bo 


THE  COMING    KINGDOM.  249 

"people,  and  nations,  and  languages."  The  division  of  tongues 
was  part  of  the  curse;  but  the  reversal  of  that  curse  will  not  be 
the  reduction  of  languages  into  one,  but  the  perpetuation  of  all 
languages,  each  nation  understanding  what  the  other  speaks. 
The  miracle  at  Pentecost  was  not  that  all  the  apostles  spoke  one 
language,  and  all  that  believed  spoke  the  same  language;  but 
that  each  man  spoke  in  his  own  tongue,  and  each  understood 
what  his  neighbour  spoke.  So  shall  it  be  in  the  millennial  jday. 
There  shall  be  many  tongues,  but  one  sentiment;  many  lan- 
guages by  many  tongues,  but  each  understanding  perfectly  the 
other:  the  many  languages,  like  the  clefFs  in  music,  shall  only 
constitute  the  more  glorious  harmony;  there  shall  not  be  uni- 
formity of  speech,  but  unity  of  sentiment.  There  will  not  be 
the  monotony  of  a  single  language,  but  the  component  harmony 
of  many  languages,  praising  one  God  and  the  Lamb  for  ever  and 
ever. 

Then  the  unity  of  character  of  all  people  and  languages,  and 
nations,  and  tongues  is,  that  they  shall  all  "serve  and  obey  him.'' 
Ail  the  nations  of  the  globe  shall  perpetually  behold  and  praise 
the  Lamb.  Every  language  shall  be  burdened  with  this  one 
song;  every  heart  shall  overflow  with  this  all-encompassing  and 
adoring  love;  every  voice  shall  give  utterance  to  an  unceasing 
anthem;  all  serve  and  obey  him  in  that  blessed  abode  where 
they  "  rest  not  day  nor  night,  saying.  Unto  him  that  loved  us, 
and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath  made 
us,  out  of  every  language  and  people  and  tongue,  kings  and 
priests  unto  our  Grod,  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever.'' 

We  now  gather  from  the  whole  of  this  statement,  then,  that 
truth  shall  eventually  triumph ;  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  right  and  the  true  and  the  holy  shall  have  the  victory.  All 
dominions  that  are  hostile  to  Christ  must  give  way.  All  king- 
doms incompatible,  with  his  must  be  dissolved.  The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  have  their  symbols  in  the  lion,  the  bear,  the  leo- 
pard, and  the  fourth  dreadful  and  terrible  beast;  and  by  a  law 
universally  proved,  their  passions  and  discord  shall  precipitate 
their  own  destruction;  but  Christ's  kingdom  has  nothing  anar- 
chical, because  it  has  nothing  sinful  in  it.  It  has  not  one  ele- 
ment of  decay,  because  into  it  nothing  that  defiicth  can  enter. 


250  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

Suns  shall  grow  pale,  stars  shall  become  dim;  the  crescent  shall 
wane,  the  crucifix  shall  fall  from  the  hands  of  him  that  holds  it : 
Judaism  shall  be  cast  away  an  exhausted  formula :  the  philoso- 
phy of  Socrates  and  Plato,  the  Academy  and  the  Stoa,  shall  be 
forgotten,  and  their  discussions  cease.  All  other  names  shall 
be  shaded  or  utterly  disappear;  and  Christ's  name  shall  be  all, 
and  Christ's  kingdom  shall  extend  over  all  the  earth,  and  all 
shall  bless  him  and  be  blessed  in  him.  We  see  already  tokens 
of  that  day.  I  take  a  bright  view  of  the  coming  days.  I  do 
not  believe  that  the  man  of  sin  shall  reassert  his  ancient  po- 
litical supremacy  in  this  land,  or  that  he  shall  be  able  any  more 
to  wield  the  destinies  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  or  to  persecute 
the  saints  of  Grod,  at  least  on  a  gigantic  scale.  I  believe,  too, 
that  there  shall  be  given  before  the  time  of  the  end  auguries  and 
instalments  of  the  coming  glory,  partly  the  fulfilment  of  Joel  ii. 
28.  What  progress  do  knowledge,  science,  education,  Chris- 
tianity, the  Bible,  make  everywhere  throughout  the  world  at 
this  moment !  Do  we  not  see  the  whole  human  family  drawing 
nearer  to  each  other?  Do  we  not  see  the  two  great  nations, 
America  and  England,  speaking  a  tongue  that  promises  more 
and  more  every  day  to  become  the  tongue  of  the  whole  world? 
Do  we  not  see  all  languages,  however  diversified,  becoming  re- 
ducible to  two,  three,  or  four  at  the  very  most, — Christians  be- 
coming less  earthly  and  Christianity  less  alloyed?  What  are 
these  but  the  tokens  of  the  approaching  glory — voices  in  the 
wilderness  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord — messengers  sent 
before  to  announce  that  the  bridegroom  cometh?  I  see  flowers 
of  paradise  begin  to  bloom  in  many  a  desert ;  and  afar,  many  a 
temple  spire  emerging  into  the  light  of  rising  and  setting  suns 
where  pagodas  were  before.  I  can  see  the  first  rays  of  the  Sun 
of  righteousness  beginning  to  penetrate  the  Mosque  and  the  Al- 
hambra,  and  to  surprise  the  superstitious  devotee  in  the  midst 
of  his  devotions.  The  Indian  begins  to  burn  his  Shaster,  the 
Arab  his  Koran,  and  the  Chinaman'  his  gods.  Fewer  arc  found 
in  Pekin  to  cast  their  infjmts  in  the  streets  to  perish;  fewer  still 
in  India  to  light  the  flames  that  are  to  consume  the  widow; 
fewer  still  to  drag  the  wheels  of  the  chariot  of  Juggernaut  over 
the  bodies  of  his  prostrate  devotees.     I  see  upon  all   sides  the 


THE    COMING    KINGDOM.  251. 

sea  of  barbarism  and  superstition  begin  to  ebb,  and  many  a  dove 
to  take  wing  anS  fly  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  world's 
chaotic  flood,  giving  tokens  that  the  Prince  of  peace  is  on  his 
way,  warning  us  that  the  sound  of  his  approach  already  breaks 
upon  the  car.  Let  us  hail  the  twilight :  let  us  urge  on,  as  far  as 
we  can,  the  coming  day;  and  let  us  rest  assured,  whatever  the 
prospects  be,  because  God  has  said  it,  that  Christ  will  have  a 
kingdom  and  a  dominion  which  shall  not  pass  away — a  king- 
dom that  shall  not  be  destroyed;  and  that  the  power  and  do- 
minion, and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  hea- 
ven, shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  all  nations 
shall  serve  and  obey  him.  Are  you  members  of  his  church  now, 
that  you  may  be  members  of  his  church  then?  Are  you  the 
saints  of  God  by  grace,  or  the  sinners  of  the  world  still  by  na- 
ture ?  Have  you  been  translated  from  the  kingdom  of  Satan  into 
the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son?  Is  the  prospect  which  Daniel 
saw  a  bright  one  for  you?  When  this  trumpet  shall  sound,  will 
it  startle  you  with  terror,  or  cheer  your  soul  with  joy?  What 
the  gospel  is  to  you  now,  the  sound  of  that  trumpet  will  be  to 
you  then.  The  interest  that  you  have  in  the  gospel  now  will  de- 
termine the  event  of  which  that  sound  will  be  the  precursor  then. 
My  dear  friends,  let  me  ask  you,  in  the  prospect  of  that  day,  to 
resolve  that  you  will  be  found  in  the  number  of  the  saints  of 
God — that  you  will  be,  if  it  be  possible,  the  sons  of  the  Most 
High — that  no  persecutions  that  are  possible,  no  scorn  that  may 
assail,  no  bribes  that  may  seduce  you,  no  sins  that  may  tempt 
you,  shall  prevent  you  from  arising,  and  going  to  your  Father, 
and  saying,  ^^  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  in  thy 
sight;'^  and  he  will  rise  and  meet  you;  and  he  will  say,  ^' Bring 
forth  the  fairest  robe,  and  put  it  on  him,  and  let  there  be  joy;  for 
this  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive,  was  lost  and  is  found." 


252 


LECTURE  XVIII. 

THE    MOSLEM. 

Daniel  viii. 

You  will  easily  perceive  that  it  is  necessary  to  read  the  whole 
of  this  chapter  as  the  basis  of  a  consecutive  exposition.  It  is  an 
historico-prophetical  narrative,  and  must  be  studied  as  a  whole. 
Because  it  is  not  doctrinal  theology,  it  is  not  on  that  account  to 
be  passed  over  as  uninstructive.  God  directed  it  to  be  written 
for  our  learning ;  at  the  same  time  it  embosoms  instructive  les- 
sons, which  we  shall  not  fail  to  gather  as  we  proceed. 

The  signs  by  which  great  truths  are  set  forth  in  this  chapter  are 
in  perfect  accordance  with  what  is  contained  and  set  forth  in  pre- 
vious portions  of  this  book.  All  ancient  writers  have  set  forth 
truth  hieroglyphically,  with  greater  or  less  propriety.  Symbols 
remain  when  languages  change,  and  thus  become  the  most  perma- 
nent representatives  of  great  truths.  Especially  does  it  seem  ap- 
propriate to  set  forth  what  shall  take  place  in  the  latter  days,  still 
future,  under  some  of  these  hieroglyphic  symbols.  If  the  future 
had  been  so  plainly  revealed  that  all  could  read  future  as  they 
see  present  things,  men's  responsibility  would  have  been  destroyed. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  had  been  so  dimly  disclosed  that  nobody 
could  understand  it  at  all,  there  would  have  been  little  use  in  dis- 
closing it  at  all.  If  some  would  say  these  prophecies  are  meant 
to  be  understood  after  they  have  been  revealed,  we  ask  them, 
why  were  they  previously  given  ? '  Do  you  say  that  it  is  to  con- 
vince man  that  God's  Word  is  truth?  But  the  fulfilment  of  many 
stretches  into  the  millennial  glory,  and  we  shall  need  then  no  addi- 
tional conviction  that  God's  Word  is  true,  for  all  skepticism  will 
have  passed  away ;  and  we  shall  sec  and  know  God,  whom  there 


THE   IMOSLEM.  253 

will  be  none  to  deny.  It  is,  rather,  more  dutiful  in  us  reverently  to 
study,  and  humbly  to  explain  as  we  discover  truth,  and  where  we 
cannot  see  clearly,  patiently  to  wait,  aware  that  what  we  know  not 
now  we  shall  know  hereafter. 

The  bear  in  the  former  vision  is  plainly  the  ram  in  the  pre- 
sent, as  I  explained  to  you  in  the  course  of  a  previous  lecture. 
The  two  horns  that  start  up  on  the  head  of  the  ram  are,  as  I  ex- 
plained, the  Modes  and  the  Persians,  constituting  one  great  king- 
dom. The  ram's  head  of  gold  was,  as  every  historian  will  tell 
you,  the  diadem  of  the  Persian  king,  this  alone  identifying  that 
symbol  with  the  personage  to  whom  it  refers;  and  ^^ pushing  west- 
ward,^' denotes  that  empire  subduing  Lydia  and  Babylon  by 
Cyrus,  and  Egypt  by  Cambyses.  The  he-goat  is  plainly  explained 
in  the  chapter  to  be  the  Macedonian  power;  his  ^'pushing"  (as 
it  is  stated  in  verse  4)  "  westward,  northward,  and  southward,  so 
that  no  beast  might  stand  before  him,''  denotes  his  conquests,  his 
advancing  and  irresistible  might.  The  notable  horn  that  starts 
up  between  the  ears  of  the  goat  might  shortly  be  shown  to  be, 
what  it  may  be  indisputably  proved,  Alexander  the  Great,  by 
whom  the  Persian  ram  was  destroyed,  and  by  whose  destruction 
immense  addition  was  made  to  his  own  empire.  This  victorious 
progress  of  Alexander  is  matter  of  history ;  it  is  not  matter  of 
conjecture  from  prophecy,  but  matter  of  historical  fact.  The  great 
horn,  which  typified  Alexander,  as  we  read  in  this  passage,  was 
broken,  not  gradually  wasted  away,  not  desolated  inch  by  inch 
until  it  disappeared,  but  sncqjj^ed  asunder,  to  indicate  that  his 
sovereignty,  with  his  life,  was  suddenly  cut  short.  Everybody 
who  knows  his  biography  is  aware  that  Alexander  was  seized  with 
fever  in  the  very  midst  of  his  victories,  and  died.  History  teaches 
us  what  the  prophecy  indicates  by  four  notable  horns  toward  the 
four  winds  of  heaven,  as  is  stated  in  ver.  8 ;  it  tells  us  that  when 
Alexander  fell,  his  empire  was  divided  among  his  four  generals : 
Cassander  had  Greece;  Thrace,  with  its  provinces,  was  given  to 
Lysimachus ;  Egypt  to  Ptolemy ;  and  the  remainder  of  Asia  was 
given  to  Seleucus.  \Ye  have  thus  the  biography  of  Alexander 
sketched  by  Daniel  long  before  Alexander  was  born.  There  is 
no  other  monarch  in  the  world  to  whom  the  description  here  given 
would  apply;  there  is  no  other  people  in  the  world's  history  with 

22 


254  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

wliicli  the  events  that  are  here  delineated  can  be  made  to  coin- 
cide; the  inference^  therefore,  is  irresistible,  that  history  here 
records  with  its  pen  what  prophecy  has  sketched  with  its  luminous 
pencil.  And  so  man  in  his  writings,  designedly,  consciously,  or 
otherwise,  witnesses  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  of  God; 
and  it  is  in  so  doing  that  history  evermore  presents,  if  we  need 
such  additional  testimony,  fresh  evidence  that  God's  word  is  truth. 
God  sketches  the  outline  of  the  greatest  general's  life,  and  that 
great  general  comes  forward  at  the  appointed  time,  and  sets  him- 
self, ignorant  of  it  all  the  while,  to  fill  it  up.  Alexander  thought 
he  was  doing  his  own  work,  subserving  his  own  ambition,  adding 
to  the  splendour  of  an  illustrious  name,  and  to  the  support  and 
extension  of  an  almost  unrivalled  empire ;  he  thought  that  his 
own  hand  was  working  out  what  his  own  great  genius  planned : 
mistaken  man!  Great  things  are  put  into  a  little  sj)ace;  we  see 
them  by  the  light  of  God's  truth.  Alexander  was  filling  up  the 
outline  that  God  had  sketched;  he  was  not  the  directing  hand, 
but  the  obedient  pencil ;  not  the  writer,  but  the  mere  pen ;  he 
was  not  the  originator,  but  the  humble  copyist ;  and  thus  his 
glory  becomes  pale,  his  grandeur  mean,  while  we  see  that  God 
had  arranged  all  the  space  that  he  was  to  cover,  and  determined 
the  limits  of  his  actions  hundreds  of  years  before  Alexander 
stepped  upon  the  field. 

Thus  one  result  of  the  study  of  prophecy  is,  to  make  great  men 
feel  humble,  and  little  men,  through  the  knowledge  of  God's  word, 
feel  happy. 

I  have  already  dwelt,  however,  on  the  sketch  of  Alexander  and 
his  empire,  as  it  was  depicted  in  a  previous  prophecy.  I  proceed 
in  this,  to  show — what  has  been  thought  the  more  difficult  part 
of  it — what  is  meant  by  the  '^ little  horn,''  i.  e.  the  power,  sove- 
reignty, rule,  which  is  here  described.  It  has  been  thought 
difficult,  because  there  is  a  description  of  the  Komish  power,  under 
the  picture  of  a  '^  little  horn,"  in  a  previous  chapter.  But  it  may 
easily  be  seen  that  little  horn  is'  perfectly  distinct  from  the  one 
sketched  here.  The  former  sprang  out  of  the  fourth  kingdom, 
and  out  of  the  fourth  kingdom  in  its  tenfold  division.  This  horn 
phiinly  springs  out  of  an  eastern,  or  the  Graeco-Macedonian  empire, 
and  is  characterized  by  other  features,  and  gives  birth  to  other  and 


THE   MOSLEM.  055 

very  different  exploits.  It  must  be  a  religious,  or  politico-ecclesias- 
tical power,  from  its  physical  smallness  and  its  moral  triumphs. 
Let  us  see,  then,  what  it  refers  to;  and  search  if  we  can  find  any 
such  body  to  which  we  can  apply  it.  I  may  state,  that  some  have 
supposed  this  little  horn  to  be  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who  appeared 
three  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  signalized  him- 
self by  his  opposition  to  God,  and  by  the  dishonour  which  he 
brought  upon  the  religion  of  Judea.  But  this  seems  improbable, 
from  the  following  circumstances,  which  I  submit  to  your  consi- 
deration. The  little  horn  was  to  arise  out  of  one  of  the  four  Macedo- 
nian empires  into  which  the  empire,  or  dynasty,  of  Alexander  was 
split.  In  the  second  place,  this  kingdom  was  to  arise  at  the  latter 
end  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  Alexander,  or  Greek  dynasties,  as  ex- 
plained in  verse  3.  The  characteristic  of  this  little  horn  was  to  be  a 
kingly  power.  The  four  horns  are  four  kings;  and  the  notable  horn 
between  the  eyes  another  king,  who  was  to  have  a  fierce  counte- 
nance, and  was  to  teach  dark  oracular  sayings.  And  in  the  next 
place,  he  was  to  have  great  success  toward  the  east,  and  toward 
the  "glory" — this  last  expression  denoting  plainly  Jerusalem  : 
for  the  apostle  says — "  the  Jews,  to  whom  pertained  the  adoption, 
the  covenants,  and  the  fjloryT  In  the  next  place,  the  success  of 
this  little  horn  was  to  be  so  great,  that  it  should  cast  truth,  i.  e. 
we  suppose,  Christianity,  to  the  ground,  and  spread  and  propagate 
itself  by  craft.  It  was  to  take  away  the  daily  sacrifice,  prayer, 
praise,  and  thanksgiving ;  and  it  was  to  stamp  upon  all  secular 
powers,  "the  mighty  ones,"  and  upon  "the  people  of  the  holy 
ones."  And  the  reason  why  the  holy  ones  upon  whom  it  was  thus 
to  stamp  were  thus  depressed,  is  stated,  in  ver.  12,  to  have  been 
"by  reason  of  their  transgression."  And  the  punishment  thus 
inflicted  on  them  is  stated  in  ver.  19  to  be  "  at  the  latter  end  of  the 
indignation."  And  this  power,  in  the  next  place,  was  to  magnify 
itself  against  "the  prince  of  the  host. "  And  it  was  to  last  in  its 
power  exactly  2300  prophetic  days,  ?'.  ^.2300  literal  years.  Now 
the  first  question  that  we  have  to  determine,  is,  who  were  the 
people  that  were  thus  to  be  visited  in  consequence  of  their  trans- 
gression, at  the  latter  end  of  the  indignation,  to  be  stamped  upon 
and  destroyed,  by  reason  of  their  sin,  by  the  great  power;  and 
this  will  help  us  more  clearly  to  identify  it.     That  it  cannot  be 


256  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

the  Jews,  I  think  is  plain,  for  many  reasons.  From  the  days  of 
Daniel  to  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Jews,  there  w^ere  only  two 
powers  that  desolated  or  destroyed  them; — the  first,  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  300  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Lord;  and  the 
second,  the  Roman.  And  if  I  show,  as  I  will  do  by-and-by, 
that  this  little  horn  cannot  be  either  of  these,  I  then  show  that 
the  Jews  are  not  the  people  who  are  here  described  as  the  holy 
ones  and  the  mighty  ones,  but  some  other  people,  whom  we  are 
hereafter  to  specify.  That  this  little  horn  does  not  denote  Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes,  is  clear  from  this  one  circumstance,  that,  like 
all  the  other  horns  mentioned  by  Daniel,  it  must  be  the  symbol 
of  a  continuous  sovereignty,  not  of  one  solitary  individual  who 
starts  into  existence,  and  then  disappears,  but  of  a  realm  or  sove- 
reignty, governed,  protected,  and  preserved  by  him.  But  Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes  was  only  a  single  individual,  w^ho  appeared 
up'on  the  stage  and  passed  away.  The  kingdom  of  Antiochus 
never  could  be  said,  like  that  of  this  little  horn^  to  be  a  gigantic 
empire,  prospering  toward  the  south  and  toward  the  east.  In 
the  days  of  Antiochus,  the  Jews'  transgression  was  not  full;  for 
at  that  period  the  Jewish  dynasty  was  almost  in  its  meridian 
glory:  some  of  its  most  illustrious  men  were  then  living.  And, 
lastly,  Antiochus  died  about  300  years  after  the  commencement 
of  the  2300  years  which  describe  the  duration  of  the  dynasty 
represented  by  the  little  horn.  From  these  facts  it  is  plain  that 
the  little  horn  does  not  describe  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  And  in 
the  next  place,  it  cannot  refer  to  the  Romans,  for  the  Roman 
power  did  not  increase  eastioard,  so  much  as  this  is  described  to 
have  done;  but  it  increased  specially  westward  and  northward. 
Neither  did  the  Roman  power  increase  by  craft;  for  there  was 
very  little  craft  in  the  aggressions,  the  victories,  or  the  progress 
of  Rome,  but  rather  honesty,  manliness,  and  open  battle.  And 
again,  the  Roman  power  was  not  a  realm  that  rose  out  of  Mace- 
don,  but  from  Latium.  And  lastly,  the  Roman  powder  had  no 
hold  in  Greece,  until  long  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.- 
And  if  the  little  horn  represents  Rome  pagan,  it  is  utterly  ab- 
surd to  suppose  that  it  can  represent  Rome  papal  at  the  same 
time.  There  are  in  prophecy  two  distinct  symbols  for  Rome  in 
its  pagan,  and  Rome  in  its  papal  state;  the  one  is  the  "iron 


TFIE    MOSLEM.  257 

legs,"  or  Rome  pagan,  and  the  other  is  the  'Hen  toes/'  iron 
mixed  with  clay,  describing  Rome  papal;  and  it  cannot,  there- 
fore, refer  to  Rome.  In  the  Apocalypse,  the  seven-headed  dra- 
gon is  pagan  Rome,  and  the  seven-headed,  ten-horned  beast  is 
papal  Rome.  And  since  Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  the  Romans 
were  the  only  two  powers  who  persecuted  the  Jews,  and  as  these 
are  not  the  two  powers  here  indicated, — for  it  is  certain  that 
they  are  not,  either  of  them,  the  power  indicated  by  the  little 
horn, — so  the  Jews,  over  whom  they  triumphed,  are  not  the  peo- 
ple indicated  by  those  who  are  here  described  as  '^  the  holy 
ones,''  and  the  '' transgressing  people."  I  believe,  therefore, 
that  it  denotes  professing  Christendom,  which  was  visited  in  the 
last  days  of  the  Grasco-Macedonian  empire,  by  reason  of  the 
transgression  of  its  people,  as  I  showed  you  under  the  fifth 
seal,  in  my  Apocalyptic  Sketches,  when  describing  the  irruption 
of  the  Turks  and  Saracens  into  Asia  and  Europe,  in  order  to 
chastise  "  heathen  Christendom"  for  its  idolatry.  Then  the  ejji- 
thet  ^'  mighty"  is  totally  inapplicable  to  the  Jews.  They  never 
were  a  mighty  people,  though  they  might  have  been  represented 
as  a  "holy  people;"  and  verse  23  seems  almost  to  identify  the 
Gentiles;  for  it  declares,  that  "in  the  latter  times  of  the  four 
kingdoms,  when  the  transgressors  are  come  to  the  full,  a  king 
of  fierce  countenance,  and  understanding  dark  sentences,  shall 
stand  up."  In  my  judgment,  therefore,  and  in  the  judgment  of 
those  who  have  studied  and  written  at  length  upon  the  subject 
of  this  prophecy,  it  is  the  Turkish  or  Mohammedan  power  that 
is  here  represented  by  the  little  horn.  I  have  showed  you  that 
it  cannot  be  Antiochus,  as  some  theologians  hold;  because  in  so 
many  particulars  the  application  fails  in  reference  to  him.  It 
cannot  be  the  Roman  power,  because  in  every  particular  the  ap- 
plication fails.  It  must,  therefore,  be  some  other  power;  and 
the  features  delineated  by  the  prophet,  and  the  facts  thrown  up 
in  the  history  of  Mohammedanism,  so  completely  tally,  that  the 
inference  is  almost  irresistible,  that  it  is  the  Turkish  or  Moham- 
medan power  that  is  here  intended. 

The  history  of  its  rise  and  progress  may  be  comprehended  in 
a  few  sentences.  It  originated  in  Chorassin,  a  part  of  Parthia 
south  of  the  Oxus,  and   in   the  very  territory  of  the   Syrian,  or 

22* 


258  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

Graeco-Macedonian  empire.  The  birtli-place  of  Mohaminedanism 
is,  therefore,  the  very  locality  here  indicated  in  prophecy.  In 
that  eastern  territory,  so  clearly  indicated  as  the  place  of  its  rise, 
the  Turcomans,  a  shepherd  tribe,  revolted  against  their  ruler; 
became  independent;  elected  Togrul  Beg  as  their  chief,  who  ap- 
peared at  this  moment  a  ^^  little  horn,'^  the  petty  chief  of  a  petty 
but  increasing  clan;  so  that  his  origin,  rise,  and  beginning  may 
fairly  be  represented,  as  for  as  his  physical  prominence  is  refer- 
red to,  by  the  symbol  of  a  little  horn.  This  Togrul  Beg,  having 
thus  become  the  chief  of  this  petty  tribe,  moved  first  southward, 
at  the  call  of  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad.  He  added  to  his  victories 
year  after  year,  and  was  at  length  appointed,  by  reason  of  his 
success,  the  caliph-general  of  Islam.  He  married  the  caliph's 
daughter,  and  became,  from  a  petty  and  contemptible  chief,  the 
royal  and  all  but  irresistible  propagandist  of  Mohammedan  fanati- 
cism. By-and-by  he  conquered  Judea,  ''the  glory,''  or  the  "glo- 
rious land"  that  is  here  alluded  to.  He  next  overran  Asiatic 
Christendom,  and  already  he  developed  every  feature  of  the  cha- 
racter described  in  verse  23,  as  the  "king  of  a  fierce  counte- 
nance/' causing  to  understand  dark  sentences;  mighty  in  his  own 
power,  but  not  by  his  own  power,  but  by  the  influence  of  a  fana- 
tical system  which  he  adopted,  progressing  and  prospering  won- 
derfully, destroying  the  mightiest  nations  and  the  holy  people; 
through  his  policy  causing  craft  to  prosper  in  the  land,  and  mag- 
nifying himself  even  against  the  Prince  of  princes ;  till,  as  we 
shall  afterward  show,  he  was  ultimately  broken  without  hand. 
And  to  show  how  completely  this  chief,  rising  from  a  little  to  be 
a  great  and  powerful  sovereign,  fulfilled,  in  his  history,  the  pre- 
dictions of  this  prophecy,  I  quote  from  the  unwilling,  but  faith- 
ful, narrator.  Gibbon,  who  says — "  Togrul  Beg  extended  his 
jurisdiction  from  the  Chinese  frontier,  locst  mid  south/' — almost 
the  very  language  of  the  prophecy, — "  as  far  the  neighbourhood 
of  Constantinople,  the  holy  city,  Jerusalem," — again  using  the 
very  language  of  prophecy, — "  and  the  spicy  groves  of  Arabia 
Felix;  and  extended  a  dominion  which  surpassed  the  Asiatic 
reign  of  Cyrus  and  of  the  caliphs."  Just  read  the  prophecy  at 
your  leisure;  and  recollect,  as  you  read,  the  sketch  I  have  given 
from    Gibbon,    and   you  will    find   that   the   prophet   describes 


THE   MOSLEM.  259 

what  sliall  be  most  minutely;  and  the  historian,  who  had  never 
read  the  prophecy,  records,  with  equal  fidelity,  what  has  been;  and 
Gibbon  the  skeptic  becomes  the  commentator  on  Daniel  the  pro- 
phet, and  presents  the  unconscious  and  the  unwilling  proof,  that 
^'holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

This  prince,  or  horn,  or  power,  is  described  as  being  ''  of  a 
fierce  countenance."  It  is  interesting  to  notice,  in  reading  the 
history  of  Gibbon,  that  the  expression  he  more  than  once  uses 
to  denote  Mohammedanism,  is  ^'fierceness,"  or  "ferocity."  For 
instance,  this  very  expression  occurs  in  the  pages  of  Gibbon : — 
"The  Turkish  nations  still  breathed  the  fierceness  of  the  desert;" 
and  one  of  the  phrases  that  Gibbon  uses  is,  "he  was  fierce  as 
a  Turk;"  the  very  language  of  the  prophet  being  employed  by 
the  infidel  and  unbelieving  historian. 

The  prophet  further  adds :  "  He  waxed  great  to  the  host  of 
heaven :  cast  down  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to  the  ground, 
and  stamped  on  them ;"  "  the  daily  sacrifice  was  taken  away — 
magnified  himself  against  the  prince  of  the  host" — "  cast  down 
truth  to  the  ground — caused  craft  to  prosper."  These  features 
are  recorded  by  the  historicin.  Thus  Gibbon  writes :  "  By  the 
choice  of  the  sultan,  Nice  was  preferred  for  his  palace  and  his 
fortress ;  and  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  denied  and  derided  in 
the  same  temple  in  which  it  had  been  pronounced  by  a  general 
synod."  The  Council  of  Nice  was  held  a.  d.  315,  and  one  of  its 
greatest  conclusions  was,  that  the  deity  of  Christ  was  a  plain  and 
obvious  dogma  of  Holy  Writ. 

It  is  stated  here  of  this  fierce  king,  that  "  he  magnified  him- 
self against  the  Prince  of  princes  :"  the  historian  states  the  fact, 
that  Nice,  distinguished  for  its  unequivocal  testimony  to  the  deity 
of  Christ,  was  selected  by  the  sultan  as  his  palace  and  fortress,  in* 
which  they  scorned  and  derided  that  great  truth  with  the  confes- 
sion of  which  Nice  is  identified  in  ecclesiastical  history.  Gibbon 
continues  :  "  The  unity  of  God  and  the  mission  of  Mohammed 
were  preached  in  the  mosques ;  on  the  hard  conditions  of  tribute 
or  servitude  the  Greek  Christians  might  enjoy  the  exercise  of 
their  religion  :  but  the  most  holy  churches  were  profaned ;  the 
priests  and  bishops  were  insulted,  and  were  compelled  to  sufter 
the  triumph  of  the  pagans,  and  to  witness  the  apostasy  of  their 


260  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

brethren."  Gibbon  tbus  testifies  bow  completely  every  feature  I 
have  gathered  from  the  portrait  of  the  prophet  is  embodied  in  the 
dark  history  and  development  of  that  fierce  and  powerful  fana- 
ticism which  was  let  loose,  as  I  showed  you  in  my  Lectures  on 
the  Apocalypse  under  the  figure  of  the  irruption  of  Euphratean 
horsemen,  for  the  express  purpose  of  punishing  idolatrous  Chris- 
tendom for  the  transgressions  into  which  they  had  fallen,  that  is, 
the  idolatry  with  which  they  had  desecrated  the  worship  and  de- 
filed the  temple  of  God. 

I  think,  then,  from  these  points  of  coincidence,  and  from  the 
utter  impossibility  of  applying  this  picture  to  any  other  power  in 
actual  history,  we  are  warranted  in  concluding  that  the  "  little 
horn"  that  rose  up  in  the  eastern  empire,  of  fierce  countenance, 
as  described  by  the  prophet,  and  recorded  by  the  historian, 
"  causing  to  understand" — for  the  word  in  the  original  is  in  this 
mood,  ^'  causing  to  understand" — dark,  mysterious,  and  oracular 
sayings,  that  is,  the  teaching  of  the  Koran,  stamping  upon  God's 
people,  or,  as  Gibbon  says,  ^'insulting  the  bishops  and  the 
priests,"  and  degrading  every  Christian  with  whom  they  came 
into  contact,  and  magnifying  himself  against  the  prince  of  the 
host ;  in  all  these  coincidences  we  have  the  conclusive  evidence, 
or,  at  least,  the  strongest  possible  presumption,  that  Gibbon,  in 
describing  the  irruption  of  Mohammedan  fanaticism,  with  all  its 
characteristic  features,  is  the  echo  of  the  voice  of  Daniel  describ- 
ing the  little  horn  springing  up  in  the  eastern  empire,  the  fierce 
king  punishing  professing  Christendom  for  its  great  transgression. 
The  following  extracts  present  a  correct  idea  of  Mohammed  and 
Mohammedanism  : — 

Gibbon  describes  the  Koran,  with  its  dark  sentences,  as  an 
'"  endless  incoherent  rhapsody  of  fable  and  precept  and  declama- 
tion, which  seldom  excites  a  sentiment  or  an  idea,  which  some- 
times crawls  in  the  dust,  and  is  sometimes  lost  in  the  clouds." 

Gibbon  states :  '^  In  the  exercise  of  political  government  Mo- 
hammed was  compelled  to  abate  the  stern  rigour  of  fanaticism,  to 
comply  with  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  his  followers,  and  to 
employ  even  the  vices  of  mankind  as  the  instruments  of  their 
salvation.  The  use  of  fraud  and  perfidy,  of  cruelty  and  injustice, 
was  often  subservient  to  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  and  Mo- 


THE    MOSLEM.  261 

hammed  commanded  or  approved  the  assassination  of  the  Jews  and 
idolaters  who  had  escaped  from  the  field  of  battle.  By  the  repe- 
tition of  such  acts  the  character  of  Mohammed  must  have  been 
gradually  stained,  and  the  influence  of  such  pernicious  habits 
would  be  poorly  compensated  by  the  practice  of  the  personal  and 
social  virtues  wdiich  are  necessary  to  maintain  the  reputation  of  a 
prophet  among  his  sectaries  and  friends.  Of  his  last  years  ambi- 
tion was  the  ruling  passion,  and  a  politician  well  suspected  that 
he  secretly  smiled  (the  victorious  impostor)  at  the  enthusiasm  of 
his  youth  and  the  credulity  of  his  proselytes.  In  the  support  of 
truth  the  arts  of  fraud  and  fiction  may  be  deemed  less  criminal, 
and  he  would  have  started  for  the  foulness  of  the  means,  had  he 
not  been  satisfied  of  the  importance  and  justice  of  the  end.^' 

^'  Light  and  darkness/'  says  Dr.  Hales,  ''  were  not  more  oppo- 
site than  Christ  and  Mohammed.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that 
a  sensual  and  corrupt  world  loved  darkness  more  than  light,  be- 
cause their  deeds  were  evil — more  congenial  to  the  Koran  of  Mo- 
hammed than  to  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  pure  and  holy  Jesus, 
who  did  no  sin,  nor  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth — who  went 
about  doing  good  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  by  his  beneficent 
miracles,  and  still  more  salutary  doctrines — nobly  and  boldly 
challenged  his  enemies  to  impeach  his  moral  character  if  they 
could  :  '  Which  of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin  ?' — and  even  his  be- 
trayer and  persecutors  bore  testimony  to  the  '  innocent  blood'  of 
the  Son  of  God,  the  righteous  Son  of  man.  On  the  contrary, 
boundless  ambition  and  unbridled  lust,  cloaked  under  the  most 
consummate  and  presumptuous  hypocrisy,  possessed  like  fiends  the 
heart  of  Mohammed.  He  was  indeed  a  true  son  of  Belial.  '  None 
but  great  souls  can  be  completely  wicked;'  little  souls  want  the 
ability  to  contrive  and  to  execute  splendid  mischief  on  a  great 
scale.  Mohammed  wore  the  mask  of  sanctity  and  mortification 
while  he  was  preparing  his  imposture  and  establishing  his  reputa- 
tion as  an  apostle  of  God  and  a  reformer  of  the  world.  But  while 
his  mission  was  acknowledged,  and  his  deluded  followers  became 
disposed  to  swallow  the  greatest  impieties  and  absurdities,  impli- 
citly surrendering  to  him  all  authority  over  their  souls,  their 
senses,  and  their  understandings,  he  quickly  threw  off  the  mask 
and  broke  through  all  the  restraints  that  prudence  and  policy  had 


202  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

hitherto  laid  on  his  impetuous  passions,  and  went  about  as  a 
raging  and  roaring  lion,  seeking  wliom  he  might  devour,  and  with 
the  most  matchless  effrontery,  and  most  daring  impiety,  he  de- 
liberately brought  down  pretended  revelations  from  heaven  to 
sanction  his  lies  and  pander  to  his  vices." 

'^  If  ever  there  was  a  finished  hypocrite,  possessed  of  the  most 
audacious  and  shameless  effrontery,  it  surely  was  Mohammed, 
whose  God  was  his  belly,  who  gloried  in  his  shame — who  minded 
earthly  things,  under  the  garb  of  sanctity  and  religion. ^^ 

^^Islamism,  therefore,  in  its  whole  extent,  is  adverse  to  the 
mild  spirit  and  liberal  genius  of  Christianity.  It  was  hatched 
and  matured  in  hypocrisy  and  falsehood.  It  was  addressed  to  the 
appetites  and  passions  of  a  sensual  and  corrupt  people.  It  was 
distinguished  by  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  hostility  to  the  rest  of 
mankind — Christians,  Jews,  pagans.  It  befriended  arbitrary  and 
despotic  power  over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  It  encouraged 
ignorance,  by  representing  all  liberal  arts  and  sciences  as  unne- 
cessary or  as  prejudicial,  cither  if  not  warranted  by,  or  if  con- 
trary to,  the  Koran ;  and  it  produced  a  torpor  and  apathy  which 
chilled  and  deadened  every  tendency  to  speculative  exertion  and 
moral  improvement  by  the  desolating  doctrine  of  fixed  fate  or 
predestination.'' 

Now  the  next  question — and  it  will  be  very  shortly  answered 
— is.  When  did  the  2300  years,  at  the  end  of  which  this  '^  little 
horn"  was  to  fail,  begin  ? — and  at  what  period  therefore  may  it 
be  supposed  that  itg  prosperity  closed  ?  It  is  not  the  date  of  the 
rise  but  of  the  decay  of  Mohammedanism  that  is  here  indicated. 
The  two  dates,  at  one  of  which  the  2300  years  must  commence, 
are  either  the  year  538  b.  C,  when  the  supremacy  of  the  Persian 
and  Macedonian  empire  began,  or  the  year  480  B.  c,  just  prior 
to  the  defeat  of  Xerxes  on  his  invasion  of  Greece.  The  one  period 
is  the  commencement  of  the  Persian  dynasty,  the  second  is  the 
era  of  its  meridian,  or  its  noontide  power  and  glory.  We  may 
prefer,  for  various  reasons,  the  latter  period.  Take  the  meridian 
glory  of  Persia  as  its  commencement;  and  then  we  shall  find  that 
the  end  of  the  2300  years  will  bring  us  down  to  A.  D.  1820. 
Bicheno,  who  lived  in  the  last  century,  stated  in  1797  that  the 
2300  years,  during  the  last  part  of  which  the  Mohammedan  de- 


THE   MOSLEM.  26B 

lusion  was  to  prosper,  prevail,  and  stamp  under  foot  all  that  op- 
posed it,  began  480  b.  c,  and  would  terminate,  as  he  then  said, 
about  A.  D.  1820.  Thirty  years  ago  then,  if  this  prophecy  be 
correct,  or,  rather,  if  this  application  of  the  date  here  specified 
be  the  true  one,  the  Mohammedan  empire  began  to  give  way.  Is 
this  matter  of  fact,  or  is  it  not  ?  I  might  give  you,  at  great 
length,  evidence  that  it  is  so.  For  instance,  it  is  stated  in  the 
Annual  Register  for  the  year  1820,  '^  The  Ottoman  empire  had 
reached  its  meridian  strength,  free  from  all  foreign  invasion,  and 
in  possession  of  perfect  domestic  peace."  Every  thing  in  the 
history  of  Turkey,  up  to  the  spring  of  1820,  was  powerful,  peace- 
ful, prosperous.  Now  just  notice  what  begins  to  take  place  at 
that  period.  In  the  summer  of  that  year,  Ali  Pacha  revolted 
against  the  dominion  of  the  sultan,  and  intestine  war  began.  In 
October,  1820,  the  Greek  insurrection  took  place;  and  Turkey 
was  crippled  in  its  strength  and  reduced  in  its  territory.  And 
from  1820,  if  anybody  will  be  at  the  trouble  to  read  its  history, 
down  to  the  present  hour,  plague,  earthquake,  fire,  revolt,  de- 
struction, have  not  ceased  continually  to  lay  it  waste,  till,  in  the 
language  of  Lamartine,  "Turkey  is  dying  rapidly  for  want  of 
Turks."  Since  1820,  Greece,  Wallachia,  Moldavia,  Algiers, 
have  been  separiited  from  the  power  of  the  Moslem  dominion : 
and  a  missionary,  writing  recently  from  Constantinople,  says, 
"  Turkey  is  in  the  agony  of  dissolution ;"  and  a  traveller,  writing 
on  the  same  subject,  says,  '^  There  is  no  law,  no  safety  for  pro- 
perty, in  this  unhappy  country."  It  requires  no  prophecy  to 
satisfy  us  that  the  Mohammedan  power  is  rapidly  falling  to  ruin. 
Now,  is  this  an  accidental  coincidence  ?  Four  hundred  and  eighty 
years  before  Christ,  when  the  Persian  laws  were  supreme,  and 
the'  Persian  empire  was  in  its  meridian  power,  a  "  little  horn"  is 
predicted  to  spring  up  in  after  ages  with  features  that  identify  it 
with  the  Mohammedan  superstition ;  the  very  period  of  the  end  of 
its  duration  is  assigned,  2300  years,  from  B.  c.  480 ;  and  so  when 
the  end  of  this  2300  years  comes — not  a  year  before  or  a  year 
after — Turkey  begins  to  hear  the  knell  of  its  approaching  doom, 
and,  piecemeal,  year  by  year,  it  falls  to  ruin ;  and  every  one  who 
reads  the  present  history  of  that  country  knows  that  every  day 
some  new  revolutionary  reform  is  taking  place  in  its  government. 


264  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

The  paddlc-wlieel  disturbs  the  silence  of  its  waters ;  the  Euro- 
pean engineer  is  invited  to  Constantinople  j  Protestant  residents 
are  multiplying  in  every  direction  in  the  midst  of  it ;  the  sultan 
is  casting  off  the  dress,  the  forms,  the  ceremonies,  the  habits  of 
the  Turk ;  it  is  ceasing  to  be  a  capital  crime  for  a  Turk  to  be- 
come a  Christian.  The  sultan  has  given  leave  to  the  Jews  to 
build  a  temple,  if  they  please,  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem :  and 
only  lately,  her  Majesty's  representative  at  the  court  of  the  sultan 
secured  rights  and  privileges  for  all  denominations  of  Christians, 
and  for  those  of  the  ancient  Armenian  churches,  utterly  incom* 
patible  with  the  essential  principles  of  the  Koran: — '4t  dies 
without  hand."  And  what  renders  yet  more  striking  all  this 
fulfilment  of  prophecy  is  the  fact,  that  the  ^^  little  horn"  was  not, 
like  that  which  sprang  up  between  the  eyes  of  the  goat,  to  be 
snapped  in  sunder,  but  was  to  be  broken  without  hands;  or,  to 
use  the  apocalyptic  symbol,  the  great  river  Euphrates  was  to 
be  gradually  dried  up.  You  have,  in  the  first  case,  the  little  horn 
suddenly  broken ;  but  you  have  in  this  case  the  power  or  dynasty 
symbolized  by  the  little  horn  broken  without  hands — a  gradual 
desolation  and  decay  corresponding  to  the  prediction  so  plainly 
annunciated  by  Daniel. 

I  have  stated,  then,  the  prophecy  and  the  plain  historic  fact. 
Let  us  now  draw  from  it,  for  ourselves,  one  or  two  useful  lessons. 
And  the  first,  is  this,  that  all  the  otherwise  inexplicable  facts  in 
the  history  of  the  church  and  of  the  world  are  here  plainly  ex- 
plained. Not  one  cloud  has  fallen  upon  the  church  that  God  did 
not  foresee ;  not  one  opposing  force  has  arisen  to  obstruct  the 
march  of  the  everlasting  gospel  which  prophecy  has  not  pre- 
dicted. There  has  occurred  no  unexpected  dislocation — there  has 
taken  place  in  the  history  of  the  people  of  Christ  no  unforeseen 
corruption ;  all  has  come  as  God  foresaw,  and  as  his  prophets 
predicted ;  and  therefore  we  know  that  God  has  not  because  of 
these  things  forsaken  his  church ;  but  rather,  because  these  have 
occurred,  he  has  shown  his  Providence  acting  in  the  world's  his- 
tory that  wliich  his  Spirit  inspired  in  the  prophecy  of  ancient 
writers. 

It  is  thus,  too,  that  we  see  in  the  rise  and  origin  of  this  system 
the  ever  active  presence  and  power  of  Satan.     Mohammedanism 


THE    MOSLEM.  265 

came  ^'  like  a  dark  smoke/'  as  the  Apocalypse  tells  us,  "  from 
the  bottomless  pit/'  Satan  is  its  agent  and  its  inherent  might. 
But  his  limits  are  fixed.  How  delightful  to  know  that  God  has 
fixed  the  bound-lines  of  his  power,  and  told  us  in  words  which  can 
never  be  contradicted  or  reversed,  when,  where,  and  how  his 
power  and  his  policy  shall  cease  together.  And  in  the  ne^t  place, 
do  we  not  see  in  the  very  existence  of  Christianity,  amid  all  those 
dark  and  overshadowing  superstitions,  an  evidence  of  the  presence 
of  God  ?  The  gospel  has  been  the  creation  and  the  care  of  the 
living  God,  or  it  must  have  been  extinguished  long  ago.  All 
elements  have  assailed  it — all  forms  have  tried  to  overshadow 
it — but  it  has  emerged  not  only  existing,  but  triumphant,  from 
them  all,  and  proved  that  it  is  linked  with  the  throne,  over- 
shadowed by  the  presence,  inspired  by  the  truth,  and  protected 
by  the  power  of  God  himself.  And  every  one  of  these  triumphs 
of  the  gospel  is  surel}^  a  fore-augury  and  a  fore-earnest  that  it 
will  eventually  triumph.  A  religion  that  has  survived  so  much 
is  surely  not  destined  to  perish ;  a  book  that  has  emerged  from 
so  many  dread  collisions  is  surely  not  a  book  that  is  to  be  ulti- 
mately destroyed.  What  the  gospel  has  done  is  a  pledge  and 
presentiment  of  what  the  gospel  will  do.  Its  existence  to-day  is 
the  strongest  proof  that  it  will  last  while  the  sun  and  moon  en- 
dure. Every  prophet  says  so;  every  history  indicates  that  it 
will  be  so,  and  every  fact  that  is  occurring  around  us — the  folly 
of  its  opponents  and  the  wisdom  of  its  friends,  speech  and  silence — 
is  giving  token  of  its  rapid  and  approaching  triumph.  The  cres- 
cent wanes,  and  the  cry  of  the  jMuezzim  becomes  fainter — the 
cimeter  is  less  appealed  to  and  craft  is  more  exposed.  The  Hin- 
doo is  ceasing  to  light  the  fire  for  the  consumption  of  the  widow, 
and  the  China-woman  refuses  to  leave  her  babe  to  perish  in  the 
streets  of  Pekin.  The  Indian  objects  to  drag  the  sanguinary 
chariot  of  Juggernaut  over  the  bleeding  remains  of  his  fellow- 
creatures,  and  the  Hindoo  mother  no  longer  casts  the  infant  that 
she  bore  into  the  waters  of  the  Ganges.  The  altars  of  paganism 
crumble,  the  lights  in  the  temple  of  superstition  are  being  extin- 
guished one  by  one,  and  the  first  dawn  begins  to  overspread  the 
distant  lands  of  the  world,  of  that  emerging  ^'  Sun,"  which  shall 
soon  arise  with  "healing  in  his  wings,''  assume   his  noontide 

23 


266  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

throne,  and  cover  the  whole  earth  with  that  glory  that  never  shall 
be  diminished.  The  Thames  and  the  Tiber,  the  Danube  and  the 
Rhone,  among  the  waters  of  Europe,  shall  soon  call  on  the  Gan- 
ges, the  Euphrates,  and  Nile  in  the  East,  and  both  joined  by  the 
Ohio,  the  Missouri,  and  Mississippi,  the  great  rivers  of  America, 
in  the  far  West,  shall  meet  and  mingle ;  and  the  praise  of  the 
Lord  shall  arise  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  the  wide  world 
shall  be  covered  with  the  knowledge  of  him,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  channels  of  the  great  deep.  Ail  that  God  has  proclaimed  to 
be  fulfilled  has  been  fulfilled ;  all  that  God  has  said  is  to  be  ful- 
filled in  the  future  will  be  fulfilled ;  all  shall  bless  him  and  shall 
be  blessed  in  him.  We  stand  on  the  threshold  of  great  and 
solemn  events  :  a  great  epoch,  in  which  a  thousand  prophecies  are 
being  fulfilled,  is  just  at  our  doors;  an  era,  as  I  have  told  you  be- 
fore, of  short  but  terrible  duration,  in  which  old  controversies 
shall  be  revived  and  new  controversies  shall  be  added,  and  all 
dangers  meet  and  mingle  in  one  dread  turmoil,  is  just  about  to 
overtake  us.  There  is  at  the  present  moment  a  pause,  but  only 
a  lull ;  it  is  not  the  settling  down  of  all  to  quiet :  it  is  a  lull  which 
betokens  to  reflecting  minds  the  outburst  of  a  more  terrific  and 
irresistible  storm,  before  which  all  ecclesiastical  and  all  civil  bul- 
warks and  battlements,  the  consolidations  of  centuries,  shall  bow, 
tremble,  and  break  up.  Some  smiled  at  me  when  I  told  you, 
three  or  four  years  ago,  that  our  church  establishments,  if  pro- 
phecy speaks  plainly,  were  soon  to  give  what  has  already  taken 
place — signs  of  approaching  dissolution.  One  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  episcopal  bench  tells  the  House  of  Lords  that  a  great 
secession  is  about  to  take  place,  and  proposes  ecclesiastical  des- 
potism as  the  only  resistant.  Men  distinguished  for  their  earnest- 
ness and  zeal,  but  blinded  by  a  dread  superstition,  are  rushing 
from  us  into  that  great  apostasy,  which  has  been  drunk  with  the 
blood  of  saints,  and  is  still  bent  upon  their  ruin.  All  things  give 
token  that  institutions  venerable  for  their  age,  valued  for  useful- 
ness, scriptural  in  their  foundations,  are  about  to  give  way,  in 
order  that  there  may  emerge  from  the  chaos  a  church  more  beau- 
tiful by  far,  whose  foundations  are  the  attributes  of  God,  whose 
altar  is  the  living  Lamb,  whose  towers  shall  sparkle  in  the  rays 


TJii!:    MOSLEM.  2G7 

of  rising  and  of  setting  suns  throughout  millennial  days,  and  in 
perfect  peace  for  ever  and  ever. 

My  dear  friends,  if  ever  there  was  a  crisis  when  a  man  should 
ask  himself,  What  am  I  ?  and,  Where  am  I  to  be  ?  it  is  the  hour 
in  which  our  lot  is  cast.  Tell  me,  then,  not  the  sect  to  which 
you  belong,  but  the  side  to  which  you  cleave.  Let  me  beg  of 
you  this  day  to  answer,  beseeching  you  to  ask  your  own  con- 
sciences in  the  sight  of  God,  Am  I  a  Christian,  or  am  I  not  ?  not, 
Am.  I  an  Episcopalian,  a  Presbyterian,  or  an  Independent  ?  Any 
of  these  you  may  be,  and  not  be  a  Christian  at  all.  But,  is  my 
heart  renewed  ?  is  my  soul  reformed  ?  are  my  sins  forgiven  and 
blotted  out  ?  am  I  a  new  creature  ?  do  I  hate  what  I  once  loved  ? 
do  I  now  love  what  I  once  hated  ?  do  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  ?  and.  Do  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  consecrate  every  hour  that  remains  to  the  ser- 
vice of  that  Master,  who  died  that  I  might  live,  and  rose  again 
that  I  might  be  holy  and  happy  for  ever  1* 

Fair-weather  Christianity  will  not  do  in  the  time  into  which 
we  are  rushing.  That  sentimental  and  tasteful  religion,  so  ele- 
gant because  so  indifferent,  so  beautiful  to  the  natural  man  be- 
cause so  cold  and  statue-like,  will  not  do.  Intensity  is  taking 
possession  of  and  rushing  into  every  thing  upon  earth.  Infidels 
are  becoming  intensely  so;  pagans  are  becoming  intensely  so. 
Should  Christians  alone  become  more  cold,  more  callous,  more 
indifferent?  A  new  life  is  proceeding  from  beneath,  and  takino- 
possession  of  :ill  Satan's  agencies.  A  new  life  is  descending  from 
on  high,  and  taking  possession  of  all  God's  people ;  and  pious 
men  are  beginning,  more  than  ever,  to  feel  now  that  there  is 
nothing,  comparatively,  worth  contending  for,  but  the  glory  of 
Christ,  the  salvation  of  souls,  the  spread  of  evangelical  religion, 
the  supremacy  of  Protestant  and  scriptural  truth.  If,  then,  the 
only  rock  that  will  stand  is  the  Rock  of  ages ;  if  the  only  vessel 
that  will  float  securely  upon  the  waters  is  that  ark  which  God 
himself  has  prepared;  make  sure  that  your  building  is  on  that 
rock;  be  sure  that  you  are  in  that  vessel.  Do  not,  my  dear 
friends,  risk  eternity  on  a  probability.  And  if  you  should  not  be 
spared  to  enter  that  chaos  which  is  coming,  but  should  be  re- 
moved and  called  to  the  judgment-seat  of  God  before,  in  either 


268  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

case  it  becomes  you,  and  it  becomes  me,  to  ask  oiirselves,  "What 
will  eternity  be  to  us?  No  man  goes  blindfolded  to  heaven.  He 
knows,  if  he  will  look  into  his  own  conscience,  and  read  it, 
whether  he  is  going  to  heaven  or  not.  It  is  not  at  all  a  difficult 
question.  A  man  whose  heart  is  absorbed  in  his  counting-house, 
whose  pleasure  is  the  gaming-table,  or  the  follies,  the  gayety,  and 
the  amusements  of  this  world ;  whose  highest  excitement  is  the 
opera  or  the  playhouse ;  who  has  little  thought  about  eternity, 
but  many  thoughts  about  what  he  shall  eat  or  drink,  and  where- 
withal he  shall  be  clothed ;  gives  no  proof  of  a  procession  heaven- 
ward. My  dear  friends,  I  cannot  disguise  from  you  the  fact,  if 
■  such  be  the  type  of  your  character,  that  you  are  marching  on  the 
broad  road  as  plainly,  as  intelligibly,  as  if  your  name  and  your 
doom  were  written  upon  the  broad  blue  firmament,  and  every  eye 
could  read  it,  and  every  ear  could  hear  it. 

But  you,  on  the  other  hand,  who  ^^  count  all  things  but  loss  for 
the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus ;''  you  who  are 
resting  upon  the  living  Saviour,  as  your  only  hope ;  whose  heart's 
desire  and  prayer  is,  that  you  may  know  what  true  life  is,  that 
you  may  feel  what  the  power  of  religion  is ;  you  who  bring  your 
property,  your  time,  your  talents,  and  your  influence,  and  pray 
that  God  would  consecrate  them,  and  make  them  all  subserve  his 
holy  will,  and  the  good  of  your  fellow-creatures ;  you  whose  only 
Sanctifier  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  bright  hope  is  the  kingdom 
that  never  can  be  removed ; — there  is  no  doubt  about  your  destiny. 
You  are  in  the  path  which  may  be  narrow,  which  may  have  many 
obstructions  and  many  difficulties,  but  it  leads  you  to  the  presence 
of  him  ^'in  whose  presence  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  whose  right 
hand  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore."  — 

My  dear  friends,  do  not  leave  the  house  of  prayer  this  night 
without  choosing  whom  ye  will  serve.  Be  decided.  Do  not  live 
in  doubt.  Do  not  have  any  more  suspensive  feelings  about  the 
future,  or  anxious  thoughts  about  the  present,  but  go  now  with 
bended  knee,  and  believing  heart,  and  vow  solemnly,  in  the  sight 
and  hearing  of  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  that,  as  for  you,  for  the 
rest  of  your  life,  you  will  be  the  Lord's. 


269 


LECTURE   XIX. 


FASTING. 


"And  I  set  my  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  ijrayer  and  supplications, 
with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and  ashes/' — Daniel  ix.  3. 

The  whole  chapter  from  which  I  have  selected  my  text  is  rich 
with  Christian  petitions.  I  know  not  that  there  is  in  the  Bible 
a  sublimer  litany  than  that  which  is  contained  in  this  chapter,  or 
clauses  more  appropriate  as  channels  of  a  Christian's  prayers, 
than  such  earnest,  beautiful,  and  yet  simple  ones  as  these : — "  0 
Lord,  hear;  0  Lord,  forgive;  0  Lord,  hearken  and  do;  defer 
not,  for  thine  own  sake,  0  my  God  :  for  thy  city  and  thy  people 
are  called  by  thy  name.''  The  whole  chapter  as  we  pass  along 
will  suggest  precious  thoughts  as  well  as  seasonable  prescriptions 
for  prayer.  In  this  lecture  I  will  introduce  mj  reflections  in  the 
words  which  I  have  now  read.  "  I  set  my  face  unto  the  Lord 
God,  to  seek  by  prayer  and  supplications,  with  fasting,  and  sack- 
cloth, and  ashes.''  The  whole  chapter — as  indeed  is  indicated 
here — is  a  specimen  of  the  inner  life  of  the  prophet  Daniel.  Pie 
who  was  made  illustrious  for  his  prophetic  wisdom,  as  is  proved 
in  previous  chapters,  was  not  the  less  remarkable  for  his  earnest, 
his  spiritual  and  devoted  prayers  :  and  perhaps  he  was  so  wise  as 
a  prophet,  because  he  was  so  devoted  as  a  suppliant.  If  he  had 
prayed  less  fervently,  he  had  perhaps  been  favoured  with  much 
less  remarkable  and  interesting  prophecy.  It  was  by  prayer  he 
drew  down  the  light  which  he  needed  for  the  present,  and  which 
made  the  future  so  luminous  to  his  eyes.  It  was  by  prayer  that 
he  drew  down  the  omnipresence  of  God  to  shelter  him  in  the  den 
of  lions,  and  to  protect  him  in  the  hour  of  peril  from  the  machi- 
nations of  his  bitter  and  relentless  enemies.  And  if  we  are  not 
called  upon  to  prophesy  as  Daniel  prophesied,  because  the  age  of 
prophecy  has  passed  away,  we  are  certainly  called  upon,  not  only 


270  PEOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

here,  but  througliout  the  whole  Bible,  to  pray  as  Daniel  prayed, 
for  the  age  of  prayer  still  lasts.  Our  wants  are  deep,  our  neces- 
sities as  many  as  his,  and,  blessed  be  the  name  of  Him  with  whom 
we  have  to  do,  he  is  as  ready  to  forgive  the  sins  and  hear  the 
prayers  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  those  of  the  six  hundredth 
year  Before  the  birth  of  our  Lord ;  for  his  mercy  is  now  what  it 
was  then,  unchangeable  by  circumstance,  inexhaustible  by  time : 
"  The  Lord  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant 
in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving 
iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin/^  As  far  as  relates  to  prophecy, 
the  sacred  canon  is  now  closed,  and  therefore  we  may  not  expect 
that  we  shall  be  gifted  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  There  is  a 
time  mentioned  in  the  Bible  for  every  thing — a  time  for  prophecy, 
which  ceased  with  Malachi,  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  with 
John  in  the  New.  There  is  a  time  to  pray  which  shall  only  cease 
when  there  shall  be  no  more  wants  to  be  supplied,  and  there  shall 
only  be  praise  for  the  full  and  perfect  rest  of  every  affection  and 
desire.  The  present  age  is  not  the  age  of  uttering  prophecy,  but 
the  age  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  It  is  to  me  one  of  the 
most  interesting  studies  to  trace  the  outlines  of  the  future  as 
sketched  in  the  Bible,  and  to  watch  the  filling  up  line  upon  line 
of  that  outline  which  is  taking  place  in  the  present.  What  is 
modern  history?  The  translation  of  ancient  prophecy;  and  the 
longer  modern  history  records  its  facts,  and  rolls  along  its  stream, 
the  more  clear  and  remarkable  is  the  light  that  is  cast  upon  an- 
cient prophecy,  reminding  us  that  once  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  proving  in  the  second 
place,  that  God  reigns  in  Providence  as  surely  as  he  ruled  in  the 
affairs  of  ancient  Babylon.  Every  day  strengthens  the  conviction 
that  God  has  taken  care  that  the  minutest  jot  and  tittle  of  all  that 
he  has  predicted  shall  be  adequately  and  certainly  performed.  But 
while  the  age  of  prophecy,  as  far  as  it  was  inspired,  has  thus 
passed  away,  the  age  and  need  of  prayer  still  lasts.  It  is  an  in- 
stinct of  the  human,  an  inspiration  of  the  divine,  a  privilege 
Christians  enjoy,  a  duty  all  men  should  bow  to.  I  will  take  an 
opportunity  in  a  subsequent  discourse  of  enlarging  upon  the  na- 
ture and  characteristics  of  prayer.  This  evening  I  am  anxious  to 
call  your  attention  to  a  subject  on  which  various  opinions"  have 


FASTING.  271 

been,  and  are  now  entertained,  and  on  the  obligation  of  which 
^  various  controversies  have  been  held ;  namely,  that  which  is  here 
stated  to  have  accompanied  Daniel's  prayer,  ^^  fasting,  sackcloth, 
and  ashes/'  There  is  a  constant  allusion  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Old  Testament  to  "  fasting,  sackcloth,  and  ashes,''  as  ac- 
companiments of  prayer.  There  are  also  frequent  allusions  to 
fasting  scattered  throughout  the  New  Testament ;  and  some  are 
strongly  convinced,  that  even  as  an  evangelical  duty,  they  are 
bound  to  practise  it,  and  believe  that  those  who  cannot  see  that 
it  is  obligatory  upon  them  in  this  dispensation,  are  guilty  of  vio- 
lating a  clear  and  unequivocal  commandment  of  our  blessed  Lord. 
I  will  glance  very  briefly  at  this  interesting,  and,  in  some  degree, 
very  practical  inquiry. 

In  all  the  works  that  Christ,  that  great  example,  performed,  I 
do  not  find  that,  except  in  one  special  instance,  so  clearly  super- 
natural as  to  be  placed  beyond  the  range  of  any  approximate 
imitation  on  our  part,  our  blessed  Lord  ever  fasted.  The  only 
occasion  on  which  he  is  said  to  have  fosted,  was,  when  he  was  in 
the  wilderness,  during  a  period  of  forty  days,  led  up  by  the  Spirit 
to  be  tempted,  not  for  the  purpose  of  fasting,  for  fastino-  was  an 
incident,  not  an  end.  That  he  felt  no  hunger  during  that  ftist, 
is  abundantly  plain  from  the  observations  contained  in  Matt.  iv. 
2,  which  records,  that  when  he  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty 
nights,  he  '^was  afterward  an  huugred;"  as  if  he  were  not  hun- 
gry during  the  forty  days  that  he  fasted,  but  only  after  the  forty 
days  had  expired ;  words  which  imply,  I  think,  without  straining 
the  passage,  that  the  fasting  of  our  Lord  was  not  the  mere 
abstinence  from  food,  but  a  complete  withdrawal  from  the  more 
public  duties  of  his  sublime  ministry — a  season  of  solitary,  se- 
questered, and  isolated,  or  rather  insulated,  communion  with  God. 

But  it  has  been  argued,  from  Matt.  vi.  16,  that  our  Lord  ex- 
pressly enjoins  fasting.  He  says,  for  instance,  in  that  passage — 
'Qloreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a  sad 
countenance :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  appear 
unto  men  to  fast.'''  Eeading  this  passage,  a  person  may  naturally 
infer  that  our  Lord  here  prescribes  fasting  as  a  positive  duty ;  but 
I  do  not  think  that  such  an  inference  can  bo  legitimately  deduced 
from  it;  because  we  find  him  alluding  to  various  practices  that 


272  PilOi'IIETlC    STUDIES. 

prevailed  among  the  Jews  in  his  day,  which  are  not  believed  by 
any  to  be  obligatory  on  us.  He  merely  regulated  the  existing  prac- 
tices which  we  know  were  then  lawful,  but  have  now  passed  away. 

We  have  an  instance  of  this  in  Matt.  v.  23,  where  he  says, 
^^  Therefore  if  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  remem- 
bercst  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee ;  leave  there  thy 
gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way.'''  There  was  an  altar  in 
the  temple;  but  this  temple  and  that  altar  have  ceased  to  exist. 
We  know  that,  by  the  very  nature  of  the  gospel,  there  is  but  one 
altar,  namely  Jesus,  who  was  at  once  the  altar,  the  sacrifice,  and 
the  priest.  Hence  those  prescriptions  of  bringing  the  gift  to  the 
altar,  and  leaving  it  there,  and  then  going  to  be  reconciled  to  a 
brother,  are  not  to  be  considered  as  a  reason  for  the  permanent 
existence  of  an  altar  in  every  church,  but  the  temporary  correc- 
tion of  a  fault  committed  under  that  economy  which  had  not  then 
wholly  passed  away. 

It  seems  to  me  clear,  that  when  our  Lord  alluded  to  fasting,  he 
was  not  enjoining  a  duty  permanently  obligatory,  but  regulating 
and  correcting  the  abuse  of  an  existing  practice  which  he  found 
perverted  among  the  people  to  whom  he  preached.  We  have 
another  instance  of  the  same  thing  in  Matt,  xxiii.  18  :  '^  Whoso- 
ever sweareth  by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing;  but  whosoever  sweareth 
by  the  gift  that  is  upon  it,  he  is  guilty. '^  And  again — Wo  unto 
you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  3^0  pay  tithe  of  mint 
and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law.''  He  alludes  to  practices  that  then  prevailed.  He  does 
not  prescribe  tithes  as  permanent  obligations ;  but  he  regulates 
the  conduct  of  the  Jews  in  the  then  existing  duties,  and  no  more. 

Our  Lord's  remarks  on  fasting  are  to  be  considered  in  the  light 
of  the  passages  I  have  quoted,  not  as  the  inculcation  of  a  perma- 
nent precept  obligatory  upon  us,  but  simply  as  a  direction  in- 
tended to  regulate  a  practice  which  he  found  grossly  and  grievously 
abused.  There  is  not  any  passage,  throughout  the  whole  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  (and  this  will  startle  you  if  you  have  not 
noticed  it  before)  that  positively  and  directly  enforces  fasting, 
liowever  venerated  in  the  feelings  or  prevalent  in  the  practice  of 
the  Jews.  The  only  passage  that  seems  capable  of  this  construc- 
tion is  Leviticus  xvi.  29,  where  it  is  said,  "  This  shall  be  a  statute 


FASTING.  273 

for  ever  unto  you :  that  in  the  seventli  month,  on  the  tenth  day 
of  the  month,  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls,  and  do  no  work  at  all." 
But  it  is  not  the  word  ^^fiist"  that  is  used,  but  the  words  ''afflict 
your  souls,"  which  would  seem  to  mean  humbling  the  soul,  draw- 
ing near  to  God,  in  the  exercise  of  penitence,  supplication,  and 
prayer.  But  though  it  is  not  a  divine  prescription,  it  is  yet 
unquestionable,  that  in  almost  every  instance  of  fervent  piety,  and 
especially  of  public  prayer,  fasting  was  observed.  In  the  case  of 
Ahab,  he  humbled  himself,  and  fasted,  and  prayed,  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes.  So  in  the  case  of  Daniel  before  us :  he  fasted  in 
sackcloth,  and  in  weeping  and  with  ashes.  So  the  people  of 
Nineveh  fasted  with  weeping,  and  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  So 
Jonah  speaks  of  fasting.  But  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  those 
who  quote  the  passages  I  have  read,  only  take  out  of  each  text  so 
much  as  suits  them.  If  those  texts  are  to  be  literally  observed, 
and  are  obligatory  at  all,-  then  there  must  be,  first,  prayer; 
secondly,  fasting ;  and  thirdly,  sackcloth  and  ashes.  The  advo- 
cates of  the  permanent  obligation  of  literal  fasting  as  the  ac- 
companiment of  prayer,  understanding  by  fasting,  abstinence  from 
food,  take  this  one  practice  3  but  they  leave  out  the  other  two, 
viz.  the  wearing  of  sackcloth,  putting  ashes  on  the  head,  or  the 
lying  on  the  ground. 

If  you  insist  that  fasting  is  clearly  and  literally  enjoined  in 
this  passage,  you  must  allow  me  to  insist  that  the  wearing  of 
sackcloth,  and  putting  ashes  on  the  head,  are  as  clearly  and  as 
literally  enjoined.  At  the  same  time,  I  hold  that  fosting  is 
unquestionably  referred  to  in  Scripture,  and  in  some  respect,  I 
believe,  in  its  spirit,  and  true  import,  and  right  use,  it  is  obliga- 
tory upon  every  true  Christian.  It  does  not  always  mean,  as  it 
has  been  generally  considered  to  mean,  pure  abstinence  from 
food,  as  I  think  such  a  passage,  for  instance,  as  Joel  i.  14  clearly 
shows:  "Sanctify  ye  a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assembl}^,  gather  the 
elders  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  and  cry  unto  the  Lord."  This  cannot  mean 
abstinence  from  food — this  is  inadmissible,  because  the  judgment 
undor  which  the  people  was  actually  suffering  was  famine ;  for  it 
is  said,  "The  vine  is  dried  up,  and  the  fig-tree  languishcth;  the 
pomegranate-tree,  the  palm-tree  also,  and  the  apple-tree,  even  all 


274  rilOPilETIC   STUDIES. 

tlie  trees  of  the  field;  are  withered,'^  And  in  verses  17, 18,  "Tlie 
seed  is  rotten  under  their  clods,  the  garners  are  laid  desolate,  the 
barns  are  broken  down;  for  the  corn  is  withered.  How  do  the 
beasts  groan  !  the  herds  of  cattle  are  perplexed,  because  they 
have  no  pasture/'  In  short,  there  was  a  literal  famine  predomi- 
nant throughout  the  land.  This  was  the  actual  judgment;  and 
if  so,  what  would  be  the  meaning  of  prescribing  to  a  people 
starving  for  hunger,  fasting  or  abstinence  from  food  ?  This  inter- 
pretation is  untenable — it  is  obviously  absurd.  So  in  Joel  ii.  12 
— "  Therefore  also  now,  saith  the  Lord,  turn  ye  even  to  me  with 
all  your  heart,  and  with  fasting,  and  with  weeping,  and  with 
mourning."  This  he  explains  in  verse  13  :  "  And  rend  your  heart 
and  not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God :  for  he 
is  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness,  and 
repcnteth  him  of  the  evil." 

True  fasting  is  not  a  piece  of  mere  externalism — a  mere  me- 
chanical act ;  it  is  far  higher,  it  is  a  fasting  that  the  soul  under- 
goes, not  an  outward  abstinence  which  the  body  alone  can  feel. 
It  consists  not  in  abstaining  from  food,  wearing  of  sackcloth,  and 
sitting  in  ashes,  but  in  humbling  the  soul,  in  bowing  the  heart,  in 
wearing  a  meek,  lowly,  and  humble  spirit.  This  is  fasting  worthy 
of  the  name,  this  tends  to  a  good  purpose.  I  refer  to  a  passage 
in  Matt.  ix.  14,  which  will,  I  think,  confirm  the  position  I  have 
already  taken  :  "  Then  came  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saying, 
Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees /«.si!  oft,  but  thy  disciples /«.si^  not?" 
To  which  our  Lord  replies,  in  the  next  verse,  "  Can  the  children 
of  the  bridechamber  mourn,  as  long  as  the  bridegroom  is  with 
them  ?  but  the  days  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be 
taken  from  them,  and  then  shall  the j-ff^M."  Does  he  not  here 
imply  that  mourning  and  fasting  are  convertible  terms,  and  that 
he  that  mourns  and  is  truly  humbled  in  heart  fasts,  in  fact,  though 
not  in  appearance,  truly  in  the  sight  of  God,  though  unseen  by 
men  ?  There  is,  I  say  again,  no  evidence  that  our  blessed  Lord 
fasted  according  to  the  rites  and  practices  of  the  Jews,  except  on 
one  special  occasion  already  referred  to,  if  indeed  then,  and  his 
conduct  in  it  is  wholly  inimitable  by  us.  But  to  suppose  that  by 
observing  forty  days  of  abstinence  from  animal  food,  while  we 
indul<]!;e  in  all  the  other  delicacies  of  the  season,  is  to  imitate  our 


FASTING.  275 

blessed  Lord^  is  a  thorough  and  useless  piece  of  Pharisaic  formal- 
ism. "To  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  to  let  the  oppressed  go 
free/'  this  is  the  fast  that  God  hath  chosen,  and  nothing  but  this 
is  so  near  an  imitation  of  him  "who  went  about  doing  good.'' 
In  Matt.  xvii.  14-21,  we  have  another  allusion  to  fasting,  which 
is  worth  lookin""  at,  in  order  to  enable  us  more  clearly  to  judge 
of  its  true  meaning :  "  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  multi- 
tude, there  came  to  him  a  certain  man,  kneeling  down  to  him, 
and  saying,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son  :  for  he  is  a  lunatic,  and 
sore  vexed :  for  ofttimes  he  falleth  into  the  fire,  and  oft  into  the 
water.  And  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  and  they  could  not 
cure  him.  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said,  0  faithless  and  per- 
verse generation,  how  long  shall  I  be  with  you  ?  how  long  shall  I 
suffer  you?  bring  him  hither  to  me.  And  Jesus  rebuked  the 
devil ;  and  he  departed  out  of  him  :  and  the  child  was  cured 
from  that  very  hour.  Then  same  the  disciples  to  Jesus  apart, 
and  said.  Why  could  not  we  cast  him  out  ?  And  Jesus  said  unto 
them.  Because  of  your  unbelief :  for  verily  I  say  unto  you.  If  ye 
have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  ye  shall  say  unto  this 
mountain,  Kemove  hence  to  3^onder  place ;  and  it  shall  remove  : 
and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you.  Howbeit  this  kind 
goeth  not  out  bu.t  by  prayer  and  fasting."  What  is  meant  by 
fasting  here,  to  which  so  much  importance  seems  to  be  attributed  ? 
One  thing  is  perfectly  obvious,  that  faith  is  the  grace  requisite  in 
order  to  work  the  miracle,  and  that  unbelief  was  the  reason  why 
they  could  not  cast  out  the  foul  spirit.  Our  Lord  does  not  say 
that  their  not  fasting  was  the  reason  why  they  could  not  cast  him 
out,  or  that  fasting  was  a  practice  in  the  exercise  of  which  they 
could  cast  him  out ;  but  that  faith  was  wanted,  and  that  unbelief 
was  the  reason  of  the  failure.  Fasting — i.  e.  insulation  from  the 
world,  and  prayer  or  earnest  application  to  God,  were  and  are,  he 
indicates,  the  means  of  obtaining  this  faith. 

But  we  naturally  ask,  in  considering  the  meaning  of  fasting 
and  its  application.  What  is  the  end  of  fasting  ?  Not  to  mortify 
the  body,  as  men  seem  generally  to  consider,  but  to  mortify,  as 
the  Bible  tells  us,  the  lusts  or  the  deeds  of  the  body.  And  it 
seems  to  me  therefore,  that  whatever  may  be  one's  predominating 
moral  disease,  fasting  is  the  withdrawal  of  the  evil  that  feeds  and 


276  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

facilitates  the  progress  of  that  disease.  And  so  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  fasting  which  our  Lord  enjoins  as  the  accompaniment  of 
prayer  must  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  special  malady  for  which 
it  is  adopted.  And  what  would  be  fasting  most  appropriate  in 
one  case  would  just  be  the  very  reverse  and  most  inappropriate  in 
another  case.  For  instance,  if  you  find  one  whose  besetting  sin 
is  excessive  indulgence  at  the  table — one  of  the  most  humiliating 
and  most  discreditable  of  man's  weaknesses — and  by  this  I  mean 
not  the  man  who  eats  to  excess  at  one  meal,  which  surely  is  a  rare 
thing,  because  an  unnatural  thing,  but  the  man  who  dines  twice, 
once  by  anticipation  and  once  actually  and  truly;  whose  anxiety 
in  the  morning  is  what  he  shall  eat  and  what  he  shall  drink;  who 
thinks  much  about  the  enjoyments  of  the  table — not,  be  it  ob- 
served, an  uncommon  thing  in  this  age  of  luxury,  civilization, 
and  social  refinement,  as  it  is  called — it  is  that  man's  duty  to  fast 
in  the  sense  of  eating  less,  thinking  less  on  such  a  subject,  and 
being  more  anxious  about  more  important  and  weightier  things, 
and  less  so  about  what  he  shall  eat  and  drink.  In  this  case  fast- 
ing is  a  duty;  but  it  means  not  abstaining  from  food,  but  taking 
the  food  provided  for  him,  thinking  about  it  less,  and  about  better 
things  more. 

But  suppose  the  case  of  another  person  who  is  addicted  to  an 
excessive  use  of  alcohol  in  any  of  its  shapes,  who  parts  with  his 
senses,  his  reason,  and  responsibilit}^,  under  the  excessive  excite- 
ment of  alcoholic  stimulants,  what  is  the  cure  for  such  a  person  ? 
I  hope  I  address  no  individual  here  who  is  the  victim  of  so  de- 
based and  brutal  a  habit — a  habit  that  is  even  rebuked  by  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  and  denounced  in  the  most  awful  tones  in  the 
word  of  God;  for  drunkards,  we  are  told,  shall  not  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  what  is  the  cure  for  such  a  person? 
I  believe  that  of  human  and  mechanical  means  there  is  no  other 
remedy  than  total  abstinence.  And  why?  Because  he  at  least 
cannot  control  his  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants.  But  if  A  uses 
wine  as  a  refreshment  or  as  necessary  to  him,  and  uses  it  without 
in  the  least  passing  the  bounds  of  moderation,  it  would  not  be 
right  to  say  to  A,  '^  You  shall  abstain  totally  from  the  use  of  it, 
because  B  cannot  touch  it  without  being  intoxicated.''  But  you 
should  say  to  A,  "Continue  in  the  legitimate  and  proper  use  of 


FASTING.  277 

what  God  has  not  forbidden,  and. what  science  has  proved  to  be 
occasionally  useful  5"  and  we  should  say  to  B,  who  cannot  touch 
it  without  indulging  to  excess,  "  It  is  your  duty  at  once  totally  to 
abstain  from  it."  And  whenever  I  have  met  with  drunkards,  and 
spoken  to  them,  I  have  always  felt  that  total  abstinence  is  the 
only  right  prescription  in  their  case.  They  have  lost  their  self- 
control,  and  their  passion  for  intoxicating  liquors  has  become,  not 
only  a  moral  sin,  wdiich  makes  them  odious  in  the  sight  of  God, 
but  a  physical  disease,  the  only  cure  for  which  is  total  abstinence 
from  the  pernicious  cause  that  feeds  it  at  all  hazards  and  on  every 
occasion.  But  because  this  is  the  fasting  which  becomes  B,  who 
cannot  touch  wine  without  taking  it  to  excess,  it  is  not  the  fasting 
which  is  required  in  the  case  of  A,  who  takes  it  in  its  place  and 
for  its  proper  use. 

Let  me  take  another  instance,  and  you  will  see  how  truly  fast- 
ing is  a  usage  to  be  observed  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter. 
Suppose  the  case  of  a  miser,  who  spends  his  days  in  endeavouring 
only  to  make  and  amass  money,  and  his  nights  in  counting  the 
gains  he  has  accumulated  in  the  day,  or  devising  fresh  schemes 
for  increasing  his  hoard — one,  in  short,  who  is  the  victim  of  that 
frightful  disease  which  is  always  gathering  and  never  distributing. 
Suppose  some  one  were  to  go  to  him  and  say,  ''Lent  has  arrived; 
you  ought  during  these  forty  days  to  fast  and  abstain  from  food/' 
The  miser  will  tell  you,  "  I  stint  myself  in  every  meal,  and  every 
day,  in  order  to  save  and  to  accumulate  money;  and  therefore  to 
tell  me  to  fast  is  only  to  ask  me  to  do  v/hat  I  have  been  doing 
continually  for  the  last  ten  or  twenty  years."  Plainly,  abstinence 
from  food  is  not  the  fasting  that  such  a  man  requires  ;  but  the 
fasting  that  is  proper  for  him  is  to  take  of  his  hoarded  wealth 
and  give  to  that  poor  starving  widow;  to  take  of  his  abundance 
and  clothe  those  shivering  orphans;  to  distribute  garments  to  the 
naked,  and  to  deal  bread  to  the  hungry.  To  a  man  like  this 
we  would  say,  ''  Such  is  the  fast  that  the  Lord  thy  God  requires 
of  thee." 

Let  me  give  another  instance  to  show  how  we  are  to  observe 
this  custom  of  the  prophets  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter. 
Take  the  case  of  the  victim  of  incessant  and  excessive  excitement 
— one  who  goes  to  the  opera  three  times  a  week,  and  to  the  plaj' 

24 


278  PEOPIIETIC   STUDIES. 

house  twice;  one  who  is  a  large  subscriber  to  the  circulating 
library  of  stimulating  romances,  the  most  pernicious  reading  in 
which  the  rational  mind  can  indulge.  That  person  lives  in  con- 
stant excitement,  and  becomes  gradually  unfitted  for  the  ordinary 
and  proper  employments  in  which  a  Christian  ought  to  engage. 
What  is  the  fasting  proper  for  such  an  individual  ?  Not  the  eat- 
ing less  food,  for  she  eats  too  little  already;  for  the  mind,  being 
in  a  state  of  excitement,  acts  upon  the  body  just  as  if  that  body 
were  in  a  state  of  constant  fever.  The  proper  prescription  for 
such  a  person  is,  '^Give  up  your  box  at  the  opera — leave  off  going 
to  the  playhouse — withdraw  your  subscription  from  the  library. 
Do  not  ask  continually  what  is  the  last  new  novel ;  go  and  be  a 
Sunday-school  teacher ;  become  the  secretary  of  a  clothing  or  be- 
nevolent society,  or  go  out  as  a  district  visitor ;  engage  in  works 
of  active  beneficence,  and  your  mind  and  body  will  then  acquire 
their  proper  health,  and  you  will  find,  not  in  the  literal  abstinence 
from  food,  which  is  not  required,  but  in  loosing  the  bands  of  wick- 
edness, undoing  the  heavy  burdens,  and  letting  the  oppressed  go 
free,  the  fasting  which  God  requires/' 

Such  seems  to  me  to  be  fasting  in  its  spiritual  and  right  sense, 
viewed  especially  in  the  light  of  those  cases  in  our  experience 
which  it  is  intended  to  meet. 

In  watching  the  conduct  of  the  apostles  immediately  after  the 
ascension  of  our  Lord,  we  find  that  on  some  occasions  they  did 
fast  according  to  the  ceremonial  introduced  by  the  Jews — namely, 
by  abstaining  from  food ;  but  it  is  as  plain  that  they  conformed 
to  many  other  Jewish  practices  that  were  not  injurious  to  the 
spirit  and  purity  of  Christianity,  under  the  rule  that  Paul  lays 
down  of  becoming  all  things  to  all  men,  in  order  that  he  might 
win  some.  We  find  St.  Paul  saying  in  one  passage,  *'  that  he  was 
in  fastings  often ;"  from  which  some  have  argued  that  we  also 
should  frequently  fast.  But  the  apostle,  in  the  very  same  passage, 
says  that  he  was  in  perils  often,  both  by  land  and  by  sea ;  it  can- 
not, however,  hence  be  argued  that  we  too  should  go  and  seek  our 
perils  by  sea  and  land.  And  surely,  it  never  can  be  argued  that 
we  ought  to  imitate  the  apostle  in  fasting,  unless  we  imitate  him 
in  what  he  was  compelled  to  undergo,  the  painful  accompaniments 
which  he  enumerates.     It  appears  from  the  context  that  this  fast- 


FASTING.  279 

ing  was  not  what  lie  voluntarily  practised,  but  what  he  was  com- 
pelled by  his  persecutors  involuntarily  to  endure ;  it  is  not  there- 
fore a  precedent  he  gives  for  us  to  follow,  but  a  suffering  which 
he  mentions  as  assigned  to  himself. 

Subsequently  to  the  apostle's  days  we  find  fasting  or  abstinence 
from  food  almost  the  glory,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  of  the  Nicene 
Church ;  and  it  was  specially  practised  by  the  Gnostic  heretics, 
who  believed  that  man's  body  was  constitutionally  the  curse  of 
his  soul;  and  that  to  persecute  and  scourge  and  lacerate  the  body, 
was  the  only  way  to  emancipate  and  elevate  the  loftier  nature 
within  it.  And  if  you  will  be  at  the  trouble  to  read  the  Eoman 
Breviary,  or  the  history  of  the  saints  that  have  been  canonized 
by  that  church,  you  will  find  them  all  notorious  for  scourging, 
lacerating,  and  tormenting  the  body  with  nettles,  spikes,  thorns, 
hunger,  nakedness,  supposing  that  there  was  something  essentially 
and  inherently  sinful  in  the  matter,  and  that  only  by  its  annihila- 
tion or  destruction,  and  not  by  its  sanctification,  was  man  to  be 
made  holy  and  happy  and  like  God.  It  is  certainly  not  unworthy 
of  being  noticed  on  the  present  occasion,  that  those  countries  in 
which  there  are  the  most  fast-days,  are  the  very  countries  in  which 
the  Sabbath  is  least  of  all  observed.  You  will  find,  if  you  read 
the  Roman  Catholic  periodical  press,  the  Tablet,  and  other  pub- 
lications of  a  similar  description,  the  most  furious  invectives 
against  any  thing  like  an  approach  on  the  part  of  our  country  to 
hallowing  the  Sabbath  day.  And  why?  Because  they  have 
raised  to  a  level  with  the  Sabbath  the  ordinances  and  the  com- 
mandments of  men  ;  and  in  Roman  Catholic  countries  Good  Fri- 
day is  far  more  solemnly  observed  than  the  Sabbath-day,  and 
saints'  days  are  much  more  decorously  kept  than  the  Lord's  day. 
This  is  just  what  we  might  expect.  "  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters."  If  you  try  to  serve  man's  tradition  and  God's  command 
equally,  the  result  will  be  that  man's  tradition  will  become  su- 
preme and  God's  commandment  will  become  depressed,  because 
God's  word  is  uncongenial  to  the  natural  man,  for  his  heart  is 
enmity  to  it,  whereas  man's  tradition  ministers  to  the  natural 
man,  and  is  therefore  welcome  to  him.  Hence,  wherever  fast- 
days,  instituted  by  man,  have  been  set  up  as  of  equal  obligation 
with  the  Sabbath,  ordained  of  God,  we  shall  find  the  Sabbath-day 


280  rFvOPilETlC    STUDIES. 

become  ultimately  notlilng,  and  the  fast-day  become  all.  So 
much  is  this  the  case,  that  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Catechism  used 
at  RomC;  the  third  commandment  in  their  arrangement  is  given 
as  "  llemember  to  keep  holy  the  festivals  ;''  ^'  llecordati  sanctifi- 
care  le  feste  ;'^  not  a  syllable  being  mentioned  about  keeping  holy 
the  Sabbath-day.  It  is  not  only  practically  expunged  from  the 
observance  of  the  people,  it  is  theoretically  banished  from  the 
catechisms  of  the  church ;  the  liollday  invented  by  the  priest  to- 
tally superseding  the  liolu  day  instituted  by  God.  And  it  is  very 
remarkable  that  in  ancient  times  the  men  who  fasted  most — i.  e. 
abstained  from  food  and  scourged  the  flesh — instead  of  being  the 
most  humble,  were  almost  without  exception  most  notorious  for 
their  violent  and  ungovernable  tempers.  To  give  you  an  instance  : 
In  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  lived  two  divines,  the 
history  of  each  of  whom  I  have  read  and  studied — Jerome,  the 
great  advocate  of  fasting  and  of  monkery,  and  Vigilantius,  the 
j^reat  opponent  of  both.  The  remains  of  the  writings  of  Vigilan- 
tius are  very  few,  and  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  volumes  of  his 
adversary,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a  very  ardent  and  lengthened 
controversy.  Now,  if  you  will  read  the  productions  of  Vigilan- 
tius, the  opponent  of  carnal  fasting,  you  will  find  them  full  of  a 
beautiful  and  quiet  spirit,  replete  with  gentleness  and  forbearance, 
ever  putting  the  best  interpretation  on  the  conduct  of  his  adver- 
sary, and  yet  firmly  contending  that  fasting,  or  abstinence  from 
food,  and  total  retreat  from  society  were  not  of  divine  obligation. 
Jerome,  on  the  other  hand,  who  fasted  from  food  to  a  severe  ex- 
tent, calls  his  opponent  endless  nicknames,  makes  puns  of  liis 
name,  and  displays  always  the  most  bitter  and  quarrelsome  spirit. 
So  that  the  man  who  never  observed  a  fast-day  or  a  feast-day,  but 
ate  what  was  convenient  for  him,  was  of  a  beautiful  and  Christian 
temper ;  while  the  man  that  fasted,  and  went  into  the  desert,  and 
clothed  himself  with  rags,  and  walked  barefoot,  was  notorious  for 
the  most  violent,  unsanctified,  and  ungovernable  temper.  We 
learn  from  this,  that  it  needs  grace  to  sanctify  the  soul ;  and  that 
Avhether  you  pamper  or  starve  the  body,  or  whether  you  feast  or 
fiist,  you  do  not  thereby  necessarily  purify  the  soul.  Christianity 
presents  to  us  something  nobler  and  grander  than  prescriptions 
cither  for  feasting  or  for  fiisting.     ''  One  believeth,"  says   the 


FASTING.  281 

apostle,  ^^  that  he  may  eat  all  things :  another,  who  is  weak, 
eateth  herbs. '^  Then  mark  what  is  his  command  : — ^^Let  not 
him  that  eateth  despise  him  that  eateth  not;  and  let  not  him 
which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth  :  for  God  has  received 
him.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another  man's  servant  ?  to  his 
own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth.  Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up  : 
for  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand.  One  man  esteemeth  one  day 
above  another  :  another  esteemeth  every  day  alike."  Every  Eng- 
lish churchman  believes  that  Good  Friday  is  obligatory.  If  he 
believes  it,  he  ought  to  observe  it.  Every  Scottish  churchman, 
on  grounds,  perhaps,  equally  strong,  both  being  extra-scriptural, 
believes  it  is  not  of  divine  origin.  Let  him  not  observe  it.  One 
esteems  one  day  above  another.  Another  esteems  every  day  alike. 
Where  God  hath  not  spoken,  "  let  every  one  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind." 

If  men  would  only  recollect  this,  members  of  teetotal  so- 
cieties would  not  call  men  who  think  it  is  lawful  to  taste  wine, 
drunkards ;  and  men  who  think  it  is  proper  to  drink  wine  would 
not  call  members  of  teetotal  societies  fanatics.  But  each  would 
be  fully  persuaded  in  his  mind — he  that  eateth  eating  to  the  Lord, 
and  he  that  eateth  not  eating  not  to  the  Lord.  For  the  sublime 
and  noble  character  of  the  gospel  is  this,  "  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  not  meat  nor  drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  ^^  Meat  commendeth  us  not  to  God ;  for 
neither  if  we  eat  are  we  the  better,  neither  if  we  eat  not  are  we 
the  worse."  "He  is  not  a  Jew  who  is  one  outwardly;  neither  is 
that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew, 
who  is  one  inwardly ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in 
the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but 
of  God." 

What  good  sense,  what  loftiness  of  spirit  breathes  in  the  gos- 
pel !  The  more  we  examine  it,  the  more  we  see  how  worthy  it 
is  of  God  to  give  it,  and  how  suitable  and  profitable  it  is  for  man 
to  accept  it.  And  if  we  had  only  a  profounder  sense  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  new  heart,  we  should  have  less  dispute  about  meat 
and  drink,  and  holidays,  and  feast-days,  and  fast-days,  feeling 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  an  outward  observance,  or  con- 
ventionalism of  any  sort,  but  an  inner  state,  "  righteousness,  and 

24* 


282  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

pence,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Wc  are  justified,  not  by 
fasting,  but  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ  alone.  We  are  sanctified, 
not  by  the  tormenting  of  the  body,  but  by  the  renewal  of  the  heart 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  alone.  Make  sure  that  you  are  accepted 
in  God's  sight,  by  resting  on  the  righteousness  that  Christ  accom- 
plished for  you ;  and  that  you  are  sanctified  in  God's  sight  by 
being  made  meet  for  heaven  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  is  promised 
to  you ;  and  all  the  discussions  that  have  vexed  the  world  about 
meat  and  drink,  and  fast-days,  and  feast-days,  will  be  crowded 
into  very  little  bulk  indeed.  And  very  remarkable  it  is,  that  just 
in  the  ratio  in  which  men  lose  sight  of  vital  religion,  do  they  be- 
come attached  to,  and  absorbed  with  days,  and  forms,  and  cere- 
monies. There  is  no  clearer  sign  of  a  church  losing  her  glory, 
than  when  the  tendency  of  her  ministers  is  to  busy  themselves 
much  about  such  matters.  And  when  such  a  church  forgets  that 
the  inner  beauty  is  the  true  beauty,  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and 
begins  to  increase  in  inferior  beauty  by  robes  borrowed  from 
Aaron's  faded  wardrobe,  and  the  flamens'  heathen  vestry — trying 
to  make  a  grand  impression  in  the  sight  of  man  by  splendid  robes 
and  pompous  rites — she  is  all  the  while  losing  those  inner  and 
hidden  excellences  in  which  God  delights,  and  which  the  spiritual 
man  alone  can  appreciate.  If  you  are  satisfied  that  you  are  jus- 
tified by  the  righteousness,  and  ransomed  by  the  atonement  of 
Jesus  alone,  you  will  not  believe  that  any  rite  is  essential  to  your 
acceptance  before  God.  And  if  you  are  thoroughly  convinced 
that  you  are  renewed  in  your  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit  alone,  you 
will  not  care  to  discuss  much  whether  you  ought  to  be  plunged  iu 
much  water  or  sprinkled  with  a  little.  If  you  feel  deeply  the  ne- 
cessity of  an  inner  change,  by  the  Spirit  and  not  by  the  baptism, 
you  will  find  you  have  something  better  to  think  about  than  a 
fruitless  discussion,  or  an  idle  controversy.  Take  a  Baptist  who 
is  a  spiritual  man,  and  take  an  Episcopalian  or  a  Presbyterian 
who  is  equally  so,  and  they  will  agree  to  difi"er  about  the  quantity 
of  water  to  be  used  in  baptism^  because  they  arc  practically 
agreed  about  this  one  thing — "  Except  a  man  be  born  again  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 


LECTURE   XX. 


PRAYER. 

*'  And  I  set  my  faco  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  prayer  and  supplications, 
"with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and  ashes." — Daniel  ix.  3. 

Prayer  was  the  expression  of  the  spiritual  life  of  Daniel. 
It  is  not  unworthy  of  our  exposition.  We  cannot  overrate  the 
importance  of  prayer,  or  attach  to  it  too  great  excellence,  short  of 
attaching  or  attributing  to  it  any  thing  that  belongs  to  God. 
There  is  a  very  beautiful  definition  given  of  it  in  a  hymn  by  the 
I^Ioravian  poet,  James  Montgomery.     He  tells  us  that — 

"  Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 
Utter'd,  or  unexpress'd, 
The  motion  of  a  hidden  fire 
That  trembles  in  the  IJreast. 

''  Prayer  is  the  burden  of  a  sigh, 
The  falling  of  a  tear. 
The  upward  glancing  of  an  eye 
AVhen  none  but  God  is  near. 

"Prayer  is  the  simplest  form  of  speech 
That  infant  lips  can  try  : 
Prayer  the  sublimest  strains  that  reach 
The  Majesty  on  high. 

"Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath, 
The  Christian's  native  air  ; 
His  watchword  at  the  gates  of  death  : 
He  enters  heaven  with  prayer. 

"  Prayer  is  the  contrite  sinner's  voice. 
Returning  from  his  ways ; 
While  angels  in  their  songs  rejoice, 
And  say,  '  Behold  !  he  prays.' 


284  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

'•  The  saints  in  prayer  appear  as  one 
In  word,  and  deed,  and  mind, 
When  -with  the  Father  and  the  Son 
Their  fellovrship  they  find. 

"  Nor  prayer  is  made  on  earth  alone : 
The  Holy  Spirit  pleads  ; 
And  Jesus,  on  the  eternal  throne, 
For  sinners  intercedes. 

"  0  Thou,  by  -vrhom  Tve  come  to  God, 
The  life,  the  truth,  the  way, 
The  path  of  prayer  thyself  hast  trod 
Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray." 

Sucli  is  a  beautiful  definition  of  prayer,  by  one  wlio  seems  to 
iiave  known  what  its  spirit,  its  aim,  and  objects  are.  Life  begins 
with  prayer,  and  life  ends  with  prayer.  The  soul  enters  on  the 
c-urrents  of  this  world  with  prayer  for  guidance ;  it  enters  upon 
the  margin  of  the  ocean  of  eternity  with  prayer  also,  as  its  part- 
ing breath.  But  prayer  is  often  misconceived  in  all  churches, 
and  by  all  parties.  I  would,  therefore,  endeavour  to  detach  from 
it  those  misconceptions  which  occasionally  adhere  to  it. 

First — The  end  of  prayer,  offered  in  private,  in  the  family,  or 
in  public,  is  not  to  inform  Grod.  Many  persons  pray  as  if  they 
wished  to  tell  God  what  Grod  does  not  know.  But,  surely,  no 
greater  absurdity  than  this  can  be  possibly  conceived.  He  knows 
the  thought  that  nestles  in  the  most  secret  nook  and  cranny  of 
the  human  heart,  as  well  as  the  thought  that  is  embodied  in  the 
newspapers,  and  trumpeted  by  a  thousand  tongues.  The  still 
small  voice,  and  the  deep  cry  of  ten  thousand — the  want  of  an 
orphan,  and  the  strong  necessity  of  a  kingdom — are  equally 
known  to  him. 

Nor  is  prayer  loud  speaking,  or  much  speaking,  or  any  one 
special  form  whatever.  The  silent  aspiration  that  struggles  for 
egress  is  heard  by  God  as  clearly  as  the  litany  that  is  chanted  in 
the  arand  procession,  and  enunciated  by  innumerable  tongues. 
God  hears  the  dumb  desire,  and  sees  the  hidden  thought;  and  if 
we  pray  in  secret,  when  no  man  can  see,  he  that  seeth  in  secret 
will  hear  us,  and  reward  us  openly. 

In  the  next  place,  prayer  is  not  prescribed  in  the  Scripture,  or 
offered  by  a  true  believer,  in  order  to  work  any  change  in  God. 


PRAYER.  Og5 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  by  petitioning  we  can  arrest  his 
purposes,  or  divert  his  designs  from  the  great  end  that  he  has 
in  view,  or  has  previously  fixed.  2so  eloquence  of  petition,  no 
fervour  of  feeiiug,  no  perseverance  at  the  throne  of  grace  can 
alter  one  purpose  of  the  Unchangeable,  or  change,  in  the  least 
degree,  the  designs  of  him  who  has  ''  no  variableness,  nor  shadow 
of  turning."  Therefore,  when  we  read  in  Scripture  such  language 
as,  "I  will  not  let  thee  go  till  thou  bless  me;"  when  we  read 
that  in  consequence  of  prayer  God  "  repented"  of  what  he  had 
done;  and  when  we  hear  of  God  being  moved  by  prayer — we 
cannot  fail  to  feel  that  all  this  is  plainly  language  that  describes 
divine  things,  accommodated  to  the  imperfections  and  the  weak- 
nesses of  human  beings.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  this  idea  solves 
and  harmonizes  those  apparently  conflicting  words  that  are  in 
various  parts  of  Scripture,  where  God  is  said  to  repent,  and  to 
change — where  he  is  said  to  have  taken  a  particular  course,  and 
that  something  has  occurred  which  has  altered  it.  These  are  the 
shadows  on  the  dial  of  time  of  the  incarnation,  before  that  incar- 
nation came ;  it  is  God  then  speaking  and  acting  within  the 
limits  of  humanity,  God  speaking  in  imperfect  human  speech  in 
order  to  be  comprehended  by  dull  and  imperfect  human  beings : 
and  this  very  condescension  of  God  is  most  wickedly  made  by  the 
infidel  to  be  an  argument  against  the  inspiration  of  the  very  book 
which  God  has  made  the  record  of  his  condescension .  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  language  of  the  Bible  (perfect  as  that  book  is)  does 
not  fully  answer  to  the  great  ideas  of  which  it  is  the  vehicle. 
Infinite  ideas  cannot  be  embodied  in  finite  vehicles ;  and  there- 
fore, instead  of  the  expressions  of  the  Bible  being  exaggerated, 
as  some  persons  suppose,  I  believe  that  when  the  divine  penmen 
selected  the  most  expressive  language  in  order  to  convey  the 
truths  of  God,  even  that  strong  language  breaks  down  and  faila 
beneath  the  magnificence  and  splendour  of  the  thoughts  of  which 
it  is  made  the  vehicle.  Even  the  Bible  then,  with  all  its  glory, 
is  but  a  dim  and  shadowy  manifestation  of  that  brightness  which 
the  unpurged  human  eye  cannot  bear  to  look  upon  in  its  intensity. 
We  are  not,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  any  thing  we  pray  for  can 
work  the  least  change  in  God ;  prayer  is  needful  for  us,  not  for 
God ;  it  was  instituted,  not  for  his  advantage,  but  for  our  salva- 


286  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

tioD,  comfort,  and  convenience ;  it  is  the  expression  of  our  homage, 
the  declaration  of  our  dependence,  the  cry  of  our  necessities,  a 
mighty  instrument  which  he  has  put  into  our  hands,  the  use  of 
which  he  has  promised  to  bless. 

In  the  next  place,  you  must  not  associate  with  prayer  any  idea 
of  atonement  or  expiation.  By  the  Romish  Church,  and  those 
who  have  imbibed  the  spirit  and  imitate  the  ways  of  that  church, 
prayer  is  regarded  as  a  penance.  Hence,  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
catechism,  you  will  find  that  one  of  the  penances  that  the  priest 
assigns  to  people  who  have  confessed  their  sins  is  prayer ;  the 
priest  tells  them,  after  they  have  confessed,  that  they  are  to  re- 
peat so  many  Pater  Nosters  and  so  many  Ave  Marias,  each  and 
all  of  which  are  regarded  and  defined  in  their  catechisms  to  be 
expiatory.  And  I  must  say  that  those  Protestant  parents  have 
not  got  rid  of  their  ancient  Popish  affinities  who  say  to  a  child, 
^^  You  have  conducted  yourself  very  badly  at  church ;  you  must 
go  home  and  learn  a  collect;"  or,  ''You  have  done  very  v/rong; 
you  must  go  and  learn  a  psalm."  My  dear  friends,  never  pre- 
scribe the  sanctuary,  the  psalm,  the  Bible,  prayer,  as  a  punish- 
ment ;  always  teach  your  children  that  each  is  a  privilege ;  and 
if  your  child  has  acted  wrongly,  say,  ''You  shall  not  go  to  church 
to-day;"  or,  "You  shall  not  read  the  Bible  to-day;"  or,  "You 
shall  not  have  that  spiritual  privilege  to-day  which  you  always 
have  had ;"  and  you  will  then  act  in  the  true  spirit  of  Protestant 
Christianity.  But  to  teach  the  poor  child  to  regard  the  bended 
knee  and  the  uplifted  heart,  and  the  utterance  "  Our  Father,"  as 
a  punishment — to  teach  the  poor  child  to  regard  the  Psalms  of 
David,  which  are  to  be  the  bases  of  the  songs  of  heaven,  as  a 
penance  and  a  punishment,  is  worse  than  Popery ;  it  is  teaching 
the  child  lessons  in  its  earliest  moments,  which  will  become  so 
inveterate  by  habit,  that  they  will  not  be  eradicated  even  to  the 
last  day  of  its  existence.  Prayer  is  not  an  expiation,  it  is  not  a 
penance,  it  is  not  to  be  taught  and  impressed  as  such;  it  is,  on 
the  contrary,  in  every  sense,  a  privilege.  To  attach  to  prayer 
any  thing  expiatory,  is  to  rob  Christ  of  his  prerogative,  and  to  at- 
tribute to  the  ordinance  the  glory  that  belongs  to  the  Lord  of  the 
ordinance.  Always  carry  with  you  this  idea — that  there  is  no 
expiatory  atonement  anywhere  in  the  universe  but  in  the  blood 


PRAYER.  287 

of  Jesus.  In  tears  shed  like  rain,  in  torture  endured  as  martyrs 
only  endure  it,  there  is  nothings  and  can  be  nothing  expiatory ; 
and  the  remark,  therefore,  which  you  will  occasionally  hear  of 
some  one  who  has  been  long  ill,  "  Poor  man,  he  has  suffered 
enough  for  his  sins,  he  has  endured  enough,  and  has  made  ample 
atonement  for  his  sins,"  is  but  heathen  or  Romish,  unscriptural, 
unprotcstant,  unspiritual  language.  Not  only  is  there  nothing 
atoning  in  any  thing  man  can  suffer,  but  there  is  no  necessity  for 
any  thing  atoning  being  in  it.  Does  not  the  blood  of  Christ 
cleanse  from  all  sin?  Does  not  the  righteousness  of  Christ  en- 
title to  all  glory  ?  We  need  no  additional  expiatory  element  on 
the  one  hand,  and  we  need  no  additional  perfect  righteousness  on 
the  other;  we  are  complete  in  Christ,  our  priest,  our  prophet, 
and  our  king. 

This  leads  me  to  another  remark.  I  meet  sometimes  with  ex- 
cellent Christian  persons  who  say  they  give  up  all  hope,  believing 
that  God  does  not  hear  them ;  "  because,"  they  say,  *'  our  prayers 
are  so  mixed  with  wandering  and  sinful  thoughts,  and  are  so  im- 
perfect, that  we  cannot  pray  aright."  My  dear  friends,  that  idea 
seems  to  imply  a  lingering  notion  that  your  prayers  are  expiatory, 
or  that  your  prayers  are  a  title  to  heaven.  Why,  if  you  could 
pray  aright,  it  would  imply  that  you  could  live  aright,  and  that 
you  needed  no  sacrifice,  nor  Saviour,  nor  atonement;  that  you 
are,  in  short,  innocent  and  unfallen  beings.  It  is  perfectly  true 
that  you  cannot  think  aright,  nor  speak  aright,  nor  pray  aright, 
nor  live  aright ;  and,  instead  of  saying,  "  I  pray  so  badly  that  I 
will  cease  to  pray,"  you  ought  to  pray  and  pray  still  for  the  for- 
giveness of  your  prayers  through  the  blood  of  Christ  Jesus  which 
cleanseth  from  all  sins. 

In  the  next  place,  when  we  pray,  it  is  not  only  not  to  make 
any  expiation,  but  we  must  not  pray,  to  use  the  definition  of  our 
Lord,  in  order  "  to  be  seen  of  men."  The  Pharisees  of  old  prayed 
in  the  corners  of  the  streets ;  and  the  Romanists  of  recent  times 
pray  upon  the  pavements  of  cathedrals,  and,  in  their  homes,  in 
what  they  call  "  oratories," — places,  nooks  consecrated  and  set 
apart  specially  for  this  purpose.  But  you  must  never  forget  that 
there  is  no  one  spot,  or  hill,  or  dale,  or  street,  or  cathedral  pave- 
ment, or  chapel  floor,  anywhere,  that  has  one  particle  of  more 


288  rnopiiETic  studies. 

essential  liallowedness  or  holiness  in  tlie  sight  of  God  than 
another.  It  is  quite  right  and  decent  to  set  apart  places  for  pub- 
lic worship,  but  to  suppose  that  a  i:)rayer  will  be  heard  on  a 
cathedral  pavement  which  cannot  be  heard  on  a  kitchen  floor,  is 
to  forget  by  whom  and  through  what  prayers  are  heard — the  per- 
fect intercession  of  the  Son  of  God.  Hence  I  regard  the  practice 
introduced  into  the  diocese  of  Exeter,  of  having  ^'oratories''  in 
private  dwellings,  because  it  is  said  the  drawing-room  floor,  or 
the  dining-room  floor  is  not  fit  to  kneel  on,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
right  to  have  family  worship  there,  but  in  a  little  nook  cut  off 
from  the  rest  and  consecrated,  and  that  there  alone  you  must 
pray,  as  the  first  inroad  upon  that  noble  and  precious  thing, 
family  worship.  No  one  must  submit  to  it;  the  thought,  the 
prayer  that  comes  from  an  humble  heart,  rises  to  God  swifter 
than  angels'  wings  can  fly,  and  is  heard  by  the  ear  of  Jehovah 
louder  than  the  seven  thunders  themselves.  The  only  priesthood 
we  need  below  is  the  priesthood  of  the  affections ;  the  only  chan- 
cel that  is  holy  is  the  chancel  of  an  humble  and  broken  heart ; 
the  only  fald-stool  is  the  bended  heart,  not  necessarily  the  bowed 
knee,  and  such  prayer,  offered  in  such  circumstances,  God  will 
hear.  Many  a  man  says  prayers  who  never  prays  at  all ;  and 
many  a  man  rarely  says  prayers  who  prays  continually.  It  is 
not  the  Liturgy  or  Litany,  however  beautiful  or  eloquent;  it  is  not 
the  loud  utterance,  however  fervent;  but  it  is  the  thought  that 
flies  inaudible,  like  lightning,  from  the  heart,  penetrates  the  clouds, 
and  conveys  the  creature's  wants  to  a  Creator's  fulness,  and  draws 
down  benedictions  larger  than  tongue  can  tell  or  heart  can  conceive. 
Prayer,  in  the  next  place,  is  not  to  be  an  excuse  or  apology  for 
the  neglect  of  duties.  We  must  not  say,  "  I  cannot  attend  to  the 
payment  of  my  debts,  because  I  am  too  much  engaged  in  pray- 
ing." You  must  not  say,  ^'  I  must  give  up  certain  duties  that 
are  plain  and  obvious,  because  I  must  devote  a  certain  time  to 
prayers  that  are  dutiful  and  right.''  Prayer  is  not  to  be  a  sub- 
stitute for  duty,  but  the  inspiration  of  duty,  and  the  strongest  in- . 
centive  to  its  effective  discharge.  Prayer  is  to  lead  to  pains- 
taking, and  pains-taking  is  to  lead  to  prayer.  He  that  prays  best 
wil-1  labour  most,  and  he  that  labours  in  the  right  spirit  will  pray 
in  the  right  spirit  also. 


PRAYER.  289 

Again,  prayer  is  not  an  exercise  suited  to  a  great  crisis,  to  be 
laid  aside  and  afterward  to  be  used  on  the  recurrence  of  another 
crisis.  When  a  shipwreck  has  been  threatened,  I  have  seen  per- 
sons begin  to  pray  who  never  prayed  before.  In  the  season  of 
pestilence,  or  famine,  or  war,  or  battle,  or  disorganization,  or  re- 
volution, many  will  begin  to  pray,  and  you  would  suppose  that 
they  were  rapt  saints  and  seraphs  in  such  circumstances ;  but  if 
the  famine  passes  away,  if  the  war  ceases,  if  the  pestilence  is  re- 
moved, and  if  you  should  say  to  such  persons,  ''  We  prayed  for 
the  removal  of  these  things,  and  they  are  gone;  is  not  this  an 
answer  to  our  prayers  V  they  would  laugh  you  to  scorn  for  such 
foolery,  fanaticism,  and  enthusiasm,  showing  that  their  prayer  was 
the  same  to  them  as  the  ringing  of  bells  is  to  Roman  Catholics, 
who  suppose  that  when  there  is  lightning  the  ringing  of  conse- 
crated bells  will  avert  it,  and  that  the  muttering  of  Pater  Nostcrs 
will  keep  away  the  judgment  that  God  justly  sends  for  their  sins. 
We  are  to  pray,  my  dear  friends,  at  all  times,  in  minute  things 
and  in  mighty  things — in  all  time  of  our  tribulation,  in  all  time 
of  our  wealth,  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  until  our  footsteps  are 
heard  in  our  approach  to  the  judgment  throne.  AVe  are  to  pray 
in  the  high-roads  of  public  life  and  in  the  hidden  and  sequestered 
by-paths  of  individual  experience ;  we  are  to  pray  when  we  go 
out,  and  when  we  come  in :  little  things  are  the  hinges  of  great 
results,  and  he  who  does  not  pray  that  God  would  guide  him  in 
the  little  things  has  no  right  to  expect  that  God  will  bless  him  in 
great  things.  A  Christian  feels  that  his  daily  bread  has  no  bless- 
ing till  he  has  asked  it,  that  his  home  has  no  consecration  till  he 
has  sought  it,  and  that  his  labours  can  have  no  increase  till  God's 
blessing  has  rested  upon  them.  And  this  reminds  me  to  state, 
that  every  head  of  a  family  should  have  family  prayer.  If  you 
look  at  this  exercise  in  the  lowest  light,  you  must  see  that  it 
brings  before  a  whole  house  the  idea  of  God ;  it  presents  before 
each  member  thoughts  of  eternity ;  and  the  very  fact  that  you 
kneel  and  pray,  and  give  utterance  to  your  wants,  teaches  every 
one,  from  the  menial  domestic  to  the  head  of  the  house,  to  feel 
that  there  is  a  God,  a  judgment-seat,  an  eternity,  a  soul  to  be 
saved ;  and  when  you  recollect  how  in  this  world  we  are  apt  to 
tread  down  and  trample  in  the  dust  such  solemn  thoughts,  you 

25 


290  niOPHETIC   STUDIES. 

will  feel  how  important  it  is  that  we  should  try  to  recruit,  to  re- 
vive, and  resuscitate  them  as  often  as  we  can.  But  more  than 
all  this,  when  we  pray  as  a  family,  we  seek  family  blessings,  and 
God  has  said  that  the  families  who  do  not  call  upon  him  he  will 
not  bless.  Many  of  your  present  aches  and  ills,  and  domestic 
trials  and  troubles,  may  be  to  lead  you  to  this ;  and  when  you 
have  been  brought  to  acknowledge  God  as  a  family,  then  see  if 
the  sunshine  of  his  countenance  will  not  lighten  upon  you,  and 
the  blessing  that  maketh  rich  abundantly  descend  on  you. 

I  have  thus  shown  you  what  prayer  should  not  be;  let  me 
endeavour  briefly,  in  the  space  that  remains,  to  show  you  what  it 
should  be. 

In  the  first  place,  prayer  should  be  addressed  unto  God,  as  our 
Father.  AVhen  we  pray  (and  I  wish  all  specially  to  notice  this) 
we  do  not  come  before  God  as  criminals  overwhelmed  by  the  ter- 
rors of  the  wrath  of  a  judge,  but  as  sons — sinful  and  erring  sons, 
it  may  be — asking  the  blessing  of  a  Father.  Recollect  that  the 
great  idea  of  the  gospel — the  idea  that  runs  through  it  all,  that 
gives  its  tone,  its  colouring  to  it  all — is  the  idea  of  God  as  our 
Father ;  and  every  time  we  pray  to  him,  we  pray  not  as  to  an 
angry  judge,  but  as  to  our  Father.  Do  not  forget  this.  Go  to 
God  as  sons  into  the  presence  of  a  Father,  never  as  criminals  to 
deal  with  the  wrath  of  a  judge.  The  very  first  utterance  is, 
Abba,  Father ;  the  very  first  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  given 
to  us  is,  that  God  hath  sent  forth  the  spirit  of  his  Son,  crying  in 
our  hearts,  "Abba,  Father."  And  our  Lord  appeals  to  us — "If 
ye  [earthly  fathers,  with  all  your  faults  and  imperfections]  know 
how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more  will 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  him  ?"  But  while  we  are  to  pray  to  God  as  a  Father,  we  are 
to  pray  to  no  creature  on  this  side  of  God.  Such,  as  I  have  told 
you,  is  my  idea  of  the  grandeur  of  man's  soul,  that  there  is  no- 
thing that  I  would  bring  that  soul  into  close  contact  with  in  reli- 
gion short  of  God  himself  No  creature  must  come  between  me 
and  God,  not  the  highest  angel  or  archangel ;  it  is  my  privilege 
to  go  to  my  Father,  and  to  say  to  him,  in  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
"Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven.'' 

But  prayov  is  to  be  offered,  not  only  to  our  Father,  but  it  is  to 


PRAYER.  291 

be  offered  in  the  name  and  through  the  mediation  of  Christ. 
Christ  is  the  way  to  the  Father,  and  the  Father's  way  to  us ;  his 
name  is  not  a  mere  musical  cadence  to  a  prayer,  or  a  customary 
close  to  a  collect,  but  it  is  to  be  the  AljDha  of  our  prayer,  and  its 
Omega  too ;  he  is  to  be  the  substance  of  every  prayer,  the  com- 
mencement and  the  end  of  every  prayer ;  and  it  is  because  of 
what  he  has  done,  that  we  can  see  a  channel  by  which  our  pray- 
ers shall  rise  to  Deity,  and  the  blessing  of  Deity  shall  descend 
into  the  heart  of  humanity.  It  is,  then,  in  the  name  of  Christ 
we  must  pray. 

But  we  are  also  told  that  we  are  to  pray  in  the  strength  and  by 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  No  man  persists  long 
in  seeking  for  a  blessing  who  does  not  give  evidence,  by  that  per- 
sistency, that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  taught  him  to  pray  for  it.  We 
all  know  very  well  that  water  rises  to  the  level  from  which  it  de- 
scended ;  it  is  so  with  prayer ;  the  prayer  only  that  G  od  has 
inspired  will  reach  to  God ;  we  are  told,  therefore,  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  pleads  and  intercedes  within  us  with  groanings  that  can- 
not be  uttered.  What  a  thought  is  this,  and  what  an  evidence 
of  the  helplessness  of  man  !  We  need  God  to  pray  to,  God  to 
pray  through,  and  God  to  pray  in.  Christ  jDleading  without  us, 
the  Spirit  pleading  within  us,  sustained  safely  is  the  creature  in 
the  everlasting  arms.  How  safe  is  that  man  whose  God  is  our 
God ;  how  sure  is  that  prayer  of  an  answer  which  is  placed  in  the 
golden  censer  of  a  Saviour's  merits,  and  kindled  by  the  presence 
of  that  Saviour's  Spirit !  You  may  recollect,  that  in  the  ancient 
economy,  it  was  not  only  sin  to  offer  upon  a  wrong  altar,  but  it 
was  no  less  so  to  offer  incense  kindled  from  strange  fire.  Now 
the  right  altar  is  Christ,  the  true  fire  is  the  Holy  Spirit ;  it  is  his 
fire  that  kindles  the  cold  heart — it  is  his  inspiration  that  gives 
eloquence  to  the  stammering  lips — it  is  his  presence  that  gives 
efficacy  and  expression  to  the  inmost  thoughts  and  desires  of  our 
hearts.  It  is  thus,  then,  we  pray  to  God  the  Father,  in  the  name 
of  Christ  the  Son,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And 
so  praying,  we  are  to  pray  for  every  thing.  We  forfeited  all  by 
sin ;  and  if  we  have  any  thing,  we  have  it  by  grace.  Is  it  not  a 
very  important  thought,  and  yet  a  thought  that  we  rarely  take 
hold  off — that  there  is  not  one  blessing,  not  one  happy  pulse  in 


292  PROrilETIC    STUDIES. 

the  bounding  hearty  not  one  inspiration  of  cold  air,  not  a  glass  of 
cold  water,  not  a  sensation  of  health  or  joy  in  the  human  frame, 
that  are  not  as  much  the  purchase  of  a  Saviour's  blood  as  the 
crown  of  glory  that  will  be  bestowed  upon  his  saints?  We  for- 
feited all  when  we  fell :  and  if  we  have  aught  that  is  good,  holy, 
happy,  beneficent,  it  is  by  grace,  and  by  grace  alone.  Therefore, 
my  dear  friends,  let  u.s  recognise  the  fountain  of  these  things ;  let 
us  feel,  that  if  we  have  no  spiritual  mercies  yet  for  which  we  can 
thank  God,  we  have  so  many  temporal  mercies,  that  the  man 
whose  lips  are  dumb  in  prayer,  has  a  heart  that  must  be  cold  and 
obdurate  indeed. 

And  when  we  pray  for  additional  blesssings — grace  and  glory — 
we  are  to  pray  for  them  earnestly — that  is,  from  the  heart,  sin- 
cerely, truly,  under  a  deep  consciousness  that  we  want  them.  Do 
not  express  in  prayer  more  than  you  feel,  but  pray  that  you  may 
feel  deeply  what  you  want,  and  so  pray.  If  a  person  is  under 
deep  wants,  and  wishes  from  any  one  that  which  will  satisfy  those 
wants,  how  simple  is  the  language  he  uses  !  Nothing,  therefore, 
is  to  my  mind  so  oifensive  as  very  splendid  language  in  prayer — 
as  very  fine  phrases,  exquisitely  turned  sentences,  beautiful  idioms, 
rich  similes,  and  fine  eloquence ; — all  this  in  prayer  is  like  pop- 
pies in  a  cornfield,  injurious,  mischievous,  bad.  Whenever  a 
person,  therefore,  prays  earnestly,  and  truly,  his  prayer  will  be 
simple,  it  will  be  short,  it  will  be  to  the  purpose.  Almost  every 
prayer  in  the  Bible  is  a  short  prayer.  Long  prayers  and  repeti- 
tions do  not  indicate  earnestness ;  it  is  the  deep  simple  cry  of  a 
humble,  needy,  destitute  heart  that  God  hears,  when  offered 
through  the  name  and  the  merits  of  Christ  Jesus.  I  look  upon 
the  General  Confession  of  the  Church  of  England  as  a  perfect 
model  in  this  respect :  it  is  exquisitely  simple,  and  evidently  bor- 
rowed from  and  moulded  upon  the  model  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
There  is  scarcely  a  word  in  it  that  is  not  a  monosyllable :  ''  We 
have  done  those  things  which  we  ought  not  to  have  done,  and  we 
have  left  undone  those  things  which  we  ought  to  have  done.'.' 
How  simple,  how  intelligible,  how  much  to  the  purpose !  and 
what  a  contrast  to  those  splendid  extemporaneous  prayers  we  are 
sometimes  doomed  to  listen  to  !  Let  us  pray  in  spirit,  and  pray 
in  truth,  and  we  shall  pray  simply,  and  to  the  purpose — simple 


PRAYER.  393 

words,  sublime  petitions.     So  our  Lord  taught  his  disciples,  and 
so  he  will  teach  us  to  pray. 

We  are  to  pray  intensely  and  earnestly.  I  have  been  looking 
over  the  Bible  for  instances  of  prayer.  I  cannot  quote  them  all 
now ;  but  I  have  noticed  how  earnest  and  intense  were  the  peti- 
tions, not  only  of  Daniel,  but  of  all  God's  most  distinguished 
saints.  ^'If  thou  wilt  not  forgive' their  sins,^'  said  Moses,  "blot 
me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  thy  book/'  What  earnestness  is  that ! 
Again,  St.  Paul  said,  "  I  could  wish  I  were  accursed  from  Christ 
for  my  brethren  and  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh.''  What 
earnestness  is  there  !  I  remember  a- parallel  case — that  of  John 
Knox,  the  celebrated  reformer,  who  has  been  blamed  and  carica- 
tured, just  as  it  now  seems  to  be  the  fashion  with  respect  to  Cal- 
vin, of  whom  all  sorts  of  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations  are 
circulated.  The  prayer  that  John  Knox  constantly  offered  was, 
"0  Lord,  give  me  Scotland,  or  I  shall  die;" — meaning  by  that, 
"  Let  me  see  the  gospel  spread  in  it,  let  Protestantism  prevail  in 
it,  let  Popery  be  cast  out  from  it,  or  I  shall  die."  I  quote  the 
prayer  to  indicate  the  intensity  of  the  feeling  that  was  condensed 
into  that  great  man's  heart,  when  he  prayed  for  such  a  blessing, 
and  for  a  laud  at  that  time  the  most  darkened  and  benighted  amid 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  I  may  refer  to  Knox's  own  prayers, 
which  are  left  to  us,  as  specimens  of  great  and  beautiful  sublimity 
of  thought.  I  do  not  think,  however,  (this  is  my  own  judgment, 
whether  you  concur  with  me  or  not,  for  the  Bible  is  silent  upon 
such  subjects,)  that  the  repetition  of  the  same  words  every  Sun- 
day, is  always  expedient.  Have  you  not  noticed,  that  the  most 
exquisite  song,  if  sung  every  day,  begins  to  pall  ?  It  does  seem 
to  be  the  higher  philosophy,  and  not  the  less  Christianity,  that  the 
same  thoughts  should  be  in  varied  language,  in  this  dispensation 
at  least,  lest  men  should  be  found  repeating  the  words,  like  those 
of  a  beautiful  song,  and  losing  meanwhile  the  undercurrent  of 
thought,  which  alone  is  precious  and  worthy. 

We  are  to  pray  also  for  all  good  things;  and  among  other  good 
things  we  are  to  pray  for  temporal  blessings.  These,  however, 
we  are  to  pray  for  with  a  certain  measure  of  reserve.  The  mea- 
sure of  our  temporal  blessings  is,  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread  ;"  the  condition  of  our  temporal  blessings  is,  "  Thy  will  be 


294  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  eartli/'  We  are  tauglit  not  to  ask 
blessings  for  to-morrow,  but  for  to-day  only.  If  Christians  lived 
as  Christians  profess  to  pray,  how  happy  should  we  be  !  But 
alas,  alas !  man — poor  inconsistent  man — is  constantly  fearing 
dangers  that  may  happen  to-morrow,  and  constantly  praying  for 
blessings  that  he  may  never  need  to-morrow ;  showing  the  incon- 
sistency of  his  character,  and  thereby  the  grandeur  and  the  truth 
of  that  petition  which  he  has  been  taught :  "  Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread.'^  ^' Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness,  and  all  other  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 
When  you  pray  for  temporal  blessings,  God  may  not  give  you 
the  very  temporal  blessing  you  ask,  but  he  will  give  you  that 
which  will  remove  the  want  that  you  feel.  If  you  ask  riches,  he 
may  withhold  them,  because  riches  might  be  a  curse  to  you;  but 
God  will  give  you  contentment,  which  is  sweeter  far.  When 
Paul  felt  keenly  some  thorn  in  the  flesh,  he  prayed  that  it  might 
be  removed.  God  said  he  would  not  remove  the  thorn,  but  he 
would  still  answer  the  prayer  by  doing  what  was  better — "  My 
grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  you.^^  When  you  are  on  a  sick-bed, 
and  pra}^  for  health,  God  may  not  give  you  health ;  such  health 
may  lead  you  to  sin ;  but  he  will  give  you  grace  to  bear  your 
sickness,  and  the  inward  man  shall  be  renewed  day  by  da}^  And 
oh  !  what  a  consolation  is  it  to  know  that  we  can  pillow  our 
aching  heads  upon  the  bosom  of  Him  who  has  promised  that  he 
will  supply  all  our  wants,  and  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  can  either  ask  or  think. 

Eut,  although  we  ask  for  temporal  blessings,  we  are  to  ask 
specially  and  primarily  for  spiritual  blessings ;  and  let  me  tell 
you  how  you  are  to  ask  for  them.  Every  promise  in  the  Bible 
is  meant  to  be,  if  you  will  allow  the  expression — although  coarse, 
it  is  expressive — the  "raw  materiaF^  of  prayer.  The  promises 
are  given  us  to  be  turned  into  prayer;  and  you  will  need  no 
liturgy,  and  feel  the  want  of  no  litany,  if  you  will  just  open  the 
psalms,  and  wherever  God  gives  a-  promise,  turn  that  promise  into 
a  prayer,  and  beg  that  God  will  fulfil  it  in  your  experience.  The 
promises  come  from  the  skies;  the  believer  accepts  them,  and 
sends  them  back  again  in  the  shape  of  prayers ;  promise  comes 
down  again  as  performance,  and  prayer  as  a  blessing;  and  the 


TRAYER.  295 

hearts  of  tbcm  that  accepted  the  one  and  embodied  the  other  re- 
joice with  joy  unutterable  and  full  of  glory.  Hence,  there  is 
not  one  blessinij;  that  a  sinner  needs  for  eternity  that  you  are  not 
warranted  to  ask,  and  to  ask  boldly,  as  a  son  from  a  fiither,  in 
the  name  of  Christ  Jesus.  Do  you  need  a  new  heart  ?  do  you 
need  joy  ?  do  you  need  peace  ?  Whatever  you  need,  if  God  has 
promised  it — that  you  may  ask.  But  you  say,  '^  Is  there  no  risk 
of  presumption  ?"  I  answer,  presumption  is  asking  any  thing 
that  God  has  not  promised;  but  your  asking  for  grace,  or  any 
thing  that  God  has  promised,  is  not  presumption.  Where  the 
queen  to  command  you  to  ask  the  highest  dignity  in  the  realm, 
it  would  be  no  humility  to  say,  "  It  is  too  great  for  me  to  ask ;" 
it  would  be  the  greatest  humility,  loyalty,  and  courtesy  that  you 
could  show  were  you  instantly  to  ask  it.  When  a  celebrated 
French  king  once  showed  the  infidel  philosopher  Hume  into  his 
carriage,  the  latter  at  once  leaped  in,  on  which  his  majesty  re- 
marked, "  That's  the  most  accomplished  man  living.''  Hume 
showed  his  greatest  reverence  for  the  monarch,  by  doing  what 
royalty  commanded.  And  if  we  so  treat  the  kings  of  this  world, 
whose  crowns  are  crumbling  into  dust,  surely  if  the  Prince  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth  say,  "Seek,  and  ye  shall  find;  ask,  and 
ye  shall  obtain;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you,"  it 
must  be  the  highest  humility  to  ask  the  greatest  blessings,  and  it 
must  be  the  highest  pride  to  ask  any  thing  less. 

To  the  complaint  often  expressed  by  many  Christians,  ''We 
have  asked,  but  God  has  not  answered,'^  I  give  this  very  short 
reply :  God  says  he  will  give,  but  he  does  not  say  how  long  3-ou 
must  pray,  or  how  often  you  must  ask.  When  you  are  ill,  and 
apply  to  a  physician,  if  that  physician  promises  you  a  cure,  and 
gives  you  certain  prescriptions,  you  do  not  run  away  from  him 
and  say,  "  All  his  promise  is  deception,"  but  you  faithfully  take 
the  prescription  he  gives  you,  and  wait  the  result.  It  is  so  with 
God  :  God  says  he  will  answer  you,  but  he  bids  you  pray ;  and 
if  you  go  on  using  the  prescription,  God  himself  has  pledged  his 
veracity  that  you  shall  have  an  answer  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  you  can  ask  or  think.  God  requires  of  you  unlimited 
confidence ;  give  him  that  confidence,  cast  your  care  on  him,  wait 
patiently  on  him,  and  he  will  bring  his  promises  to  pass.     But 


296  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

you  say,  your  sorrow  continues,  and  increases  while  you  pray. 
The  sorrow  you  feel,  or  the  calamity  you  are  the  subject  of,  may 
be  the  medicine,  not  the  disease.  You  do  not  want  the  medicine 
to  be  withdrawn,  you  only  want  the  disease  to  be  cured. 

Especially  is  all  this  true  of  intercessory  prayer.  If  you  have 
a  friend,  a  son,  a  daughter,  a  husband,  a  wife,  a  relative,  who  are 
not  what  they  should  be,  and  whom  you  wish  to  be  what  Grod 
would  have  them  to  be,  continue  to  pray  for  them,  and  as  sure  as 
you  do  pray,  so  sure  that  prayer  will  be,  sooner  or  later,  answered. 
Many  a  prayer  offered  up  by  them  that  are  gone  is  doing  its  work 
in  the  hearts  of  those  who  tread  reverently  upon  their  ashes. 
You  may  be  gathered  to  the  grave  before  the  blessing  you  have 
prayed  for  descends  upon  a  near  and  a  dear  oiie,  but  fall  it  will; 
God  has  pledged  himself  to  it,  and  he  will  most  assuredly  fulfil 
his  pledge. 

But  you  are  to  pray  for  blessings  not  only  upon  your  friends 
and  your  rehitivcs,  but  even  upon  your  foes.  The  way  to  destroy 
an  enemy  is  to  love  him,  and  the  way  to  destroy  your  enmity  to 
him  is  to  pray  for  him.  AVhenever  there  is  any  one  toward 
whom  you  feel  most  uncomfortably,  go  home  and  pray  for  him, 
and  all  your  uncomfortable  feeling  will  depart.  If  this  were  so — 
if  one  were  praying  for  another,  and  each  for  all,  the  world  would 
have  innumerable  benefactors,  men  who  prayed  for  others,  the 
results  of  whose  prayers  many  might  be  reaping,  while  they 
knew  not  the  names  even  of  those  that  uttered  them.  Let  us 
pray  for  all  men,  for  kings  and  all  that  are  in  authority,  for  our 
friends  that  they  may  be  friends  of  God,  for  our  enemies  that 
they  may  be  forgiven,  for  all  flesh  that  they  may  see  and  taste 
the  great  salvation  of  our  God.  And  as  an  encouragement  to 
such  prayer,  let  me  read  to  you — and  with  it  I  will  close — that 
beautiful  specimen  which  occurs  in  the  history  of  Abraham.  God 
had  resolved,  we  are  told,  to  destroy  Sodom.  ^^  And  Abraham 
drew  near,  and  said.  Wilt  thou  also  destroy  the  righteous  with 
the  wicked  ?  Peradventure  there  be  fifty  righteous  within  the 
city :  wilt  thou  also  destroy  and  not  spare  the  place  for  the  fifty 
righteous  that  are  therein  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  If  I  find  in 
Sodom  fifty  righteous  within  the  city,  then  will  I  spare  all  the 
place  for  their  sakes.     And  Abraham  answered  and  said,  Behold 


TRAYER.  297 

now,  I  liave  taken  upon  mc  to  speak  unto  the  Lord,  wliicli  am 
but  dust  and  ashes :  [what  humility,  and  yet  what  boldness  !] 
Peradventure  there  shall  lack  five  of  the  fifty  righteous :  wilt 
thou  destroy  all  the  city  for  lack  of  five  ?  And  he  said,  If  I  find 
there  forty  and  five,  I  will  not  destroy  it.  And  he  spake  unto 
him  yet  again,  and  said,  Peradventure  there  shall  be  forty  found 
there.  And  he  said,  I  will  not  do  it  for  forty's  sake.  And  he 
said  unto  him,  Oh  let  not  the  Lord  be  angry,  and  I  will  speak : 
Peradventure  there  shall  thirty  be  found  there.  And  he  said,  I 
will  not  do  it  if  I  find  thirty  there.  And  he  said.  Behold  now,  I 
have  taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord :  Peradventure 
there  shall  be  twenty  found  there.  And  he  said,  I  will  not  de- 
stroy it  for  twenty's  sake.  And  he  said.  Oh  let  not  the  Lord  be 
angry,  and  I  will  speak  yet  but  this  once :  Peradventure  ten 
shall  be  found  there.  And  he  said,  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  ten's 
sake.  And  the  Lord  went  his  way,  as  soon  as  he  had  left  com- 
muning with  Abraham  :  and  Abraham  returned  unto  his  place.'' 
Abraham  left  off  praying  before  God  left  off  giving. 


298 


LECTURE  XXL 

SIN,  CONFESSION,  AND   ABSOLUTION. 

"And  I  prayed  unto  the  Lord  iny  God,  and  made  my  confession,  and  said, 

0  Lord,  the  great  and  dreadful  God,  keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy  to  them 
that  love  him,  and  to  them  that  keep  his  commandments." — Daniel  ix.  4. 

In  my  first  remarks  on  the  chapter  a  portion  of  which  I  have 
read,  I  endeavoured  to  show  what  was  the  nature  of  fasting,  and 
ashes,  and  sackcloth,  and  how  far  obligatory  on  us  were  these 
accompaniments  of  prayer  which  Daniel  here  presented.  It  is 
said  that  he  ''  prayed  with  fasting,  with  sackloth,  and  with  ashes." 

1  showed  that  these  were  temporary  ceremonies  in  their  material 
form,  while  they  expressed  permanent  feelings  of  the  heart  in 
the  dispensation  in  which  it  is  our  privilege  to  live;  that  the 
fasting  required  now  has  rather  a  relation  to  the  heart  than  to  the 
body;  that  the  sackcloth  and  the  ashes  are  lowliness  and  humility 
of  soul,  and  that,  where  these  are  accompanied  by  faith  and  trust 
in  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  there  there  is  the  spirit  that  presents 
acceptable  prayer  to  God,  and  on  which  the  blessing  pledged  and 
promised  will  descend.  In  my  next  discourse  I  endeavoured  to 
explain  the  nature  of  prayer;  its  divisions,  its  obligations,  and 
its  general  characteristics.  In  my  remarks  this  evening  I  will 
call  your  attention  to  three  specific  topics  that  are  touched  upon 
in  the  course  of  the  prayer  which  I  have  now  read :  first,  sin,  as 
the  root  and  cause  of  all  the  miseries  we  suffer;  next,  the  con- 
fession of  sin,  which  Daniel  here  exhibited ;  and,  thirdly,  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  by  him  to  whom  the  prayer  is  addressed ;  '^  the 
Lord  our  God,"  to  whom  '' bclongmercies and  forgiveness,  though 
we  have  rebelled  against  him." 

We  have,  first  of  all,  then,  in  this  chapter,  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  sin ;  Daniel  owning,  throughout  the  whole  passage,  that 
whatever  evils  had  fallen  upon  them,   their  princes,  and  their 


SIN,  CONFESSION,  AND  ABSOLUTION.  299 

fathers,  their  rulers,  and  all  the  people  of  the  land,  were  to  be 
traced  to  one  prolific  and  bitter  root,  and  that  root,  sin.  The 
word  is  easily  uttered;  but  eternity  itself  will  not  be  able  to 
exhaust  its  terrible  significance.     Sin  it  was  that 

''Brought  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  wo  I" 

Sin  was  not  made  by  God.  Wherever  it  came  from,  it  came  not 
from  the  creative  hand  of  our  God ;  it  was  no  original  portion  of 
the  creation  of  God;  it  was  no  part  or  parcel  of  the  original 
furniture  which  garnished  and  beautified  the  earth  as  it  came  from 
the  hand  of  God.  It  is  a  foul  stain  that  has  fallen  upon  the 
earth.  Whence  it  came  originally,  the  Bible  does  not  tell  us ; 
and  as  we  are  unable  to  explain  its  origin  and  the  cause  of  its  in- 
troduction as  a  fact,  philosoj^hers  and  skeptics,  who  either  repudi- 
ate it  or  explain  it  awa}^,  are  equally  unable  to  solve  the  difficulty, 
and  say  why,  and  wherefore,  and  how,  sin  crept  into  the  world, 
and  originated  all  the  disaster  and  wreck  and  misery  which  con- 
fessedly flow  from  it.  All  that  we  know  is,  that  God  is  not  the 
author  of  it ;  and  he  cannot  be  charged  in  any  shape  or  sense 
with  the  responsibility  of  its  existence.  God  made  man  holy;  he 
made  creation  happy;  he  pronounced  them  both  to  be  "very 
good;''  and,  whatever  be  the  source  of  sin,  it  is  not  of  God,  nor 
from  God,  nor  is  he,  in  his  government,  in  any  manner  what- 
ever, chargeable  with  its  existence  or  its  consequences. 

Sin,  in  looking  at  it  as  the  source  of  evil,  may  be  said,  in  the 
first  place,  to  be  wrong  done  to  one's  own  self.  No  man  sins 
without  suffering  in  the  act  of  his  sin,  and  suffering  afterward 
terrible  and  enduring  consequences  that  follow  that  act.  Never 
can  sin,  as  a  fact  in  the  past,  be  utterly  annihilated.  Its  dark 
shadow  will  remain  suspended  over  your  recollections  to  the  last; 
your  remembrance  of  it  will  not  cease  till  grace  is  swallowed  up 
in  glory.  Forgiven  it  may  be;  forgotten  by  you,  as  a  fact,  your 
memory  will  never  sufi"er  it  to  be.  Sin,  I  have  said,  is  wrong 
done  to  one's  own  self.  It  creates  terrible  presentiments  which 
you  yourselves  are  all  conscious  of  There  is  no  feeling  in  the 
human  heart  more  rending,  more  insufi"erable  for  its  agony,  than 
the  terrible  feeliDg  of  remorse.  We  know  not  fully  what  it  is  in 
this  world,  because  it  is  benumbed,  soothed,  repressed  by  a  thou- 


300  rROPIlETIC    STULIE8. 

sand  circumstantial  applications  round  us.  But  wlien  these  are 
occasionally  withdrawn,  and  the  conscience  is  left  to  its  gnawings, 
I  believe  that  we  have  in  such  remorse  the  first  sensations  of  the 
torment  of  the  worm  that  never  dies,  and  of  the  fire  that  shall 
never  he  quenched.  But  I  do  not  now  refer  to  sin  as  the  source 
of  future  misery;  I  look  at  it  as  the  source  of  misery  now:  a 
sinner  is  an  unhappy  man — unhappy  when  he  sins ;  never  is  the 
right  hand  lifted  up  to  sin  unless  amid  the  lightnings  of  con- 
viction and  remonstrance.  Never  does  a  man  do  what  his  con- 
science declares  to  be  wrong  without  feeling  conflict,  misery,  discord, 
which  are  only  the  dawn  of  that  future  hell  where  sin  is  left  to 
its  full  sway,  and  its  victim  is  consigned  to  all  its  terrible  results. 

Sin  is  wrong  done,  specially,  I  observe,  to  man's  conscience. 
Man's  conscience  may  be  seared,  benumbed,  stupefied,  by  the 
influence  of  sin ;  but  it  never  sleeps  the  sleep  of  entire  death  in 
this  world.  There  are  times  when  conscience  will  awake,  and 
when  all  the  opiates  of  this  world  utterly  fail  to  hush  it.  There 
are  moments  of  sequestration  from  the  world,  when  some  mys- 
terious light  will  flash  upon  the  conscience,  resplendent  and  vivid 
as  the  lightning,  in  which  you  read  the  sins  you  have  done,  and 
see  the  retribution  that  of  necessity  cleaves  to  them ;  and  hard 
as  you  may  try  to  stupefy,  to  still,  and  to  allay  that  conscience, 
you  will  not  succeed.  It  will  rise  from  its  temporary  lull,  and 
reason  audibly,  till  the  wounded  spirit  can  no  longer  bear  it,  '^  of 
righteousness,  and  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come.''  It  is 
related  in  Scripture,  that  when  Herod,  who  was  a  Sadducee,  and 
who  therefore  disbelieved  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  heard  that  Jesus  was  performing  great 
miracles,  instantly  his  conscience  smote  him  with  the  recollection 
he  had  murdered  John,  and  that  conscience,  stronger  than  his 
reason,  said,  ^'It  is  John,''  and,  stronger  than  his  creed,  it  added, 
"who  is  risen  from  the  dead;"  and,  with  forebodings  which  he 
could  not  quell,  made  him  feel  that  he  was  come  to  avenge  the 
foul  murder  of  which  he,  Herod,  had  been  guilty.  So  true  is  it 
that  conscience  is  more  eloquent  than  speech,  more  powerful  than 
armies ;  monarchs  have  felt  it  on  their  thrones,  and  skeptics  have 
believed  in  spite  of  their  atheistical  convictions. 

Sin  is  wrong  done  to  the  afl"ections.     Every  one  knows,  and  it 


SIN,    CONFESSION,    AND   ABSOLUTION.  301 

is  well  that  we  should  know,  that  the  moment  you  introduce  sin 
into  the  affections  of  a  man,  in  thought,  in  deed,  or  in  word, 
that  moment  there  follows  disorder,  confiLsion,  suffering.  "Who 
knows  not  the  fury  of  resentment,  the  corroding  pain  of  a  spirit 
of  revenge  ?  Who  is  not  aware  what  a  hardening  thing  is  ava- 
rice, wherever  it  is  cherished  and  entertained  ?  Few  there  are 
who  have  not  learned  by  painful  personal  experience,  that  the 
introduction  of  sin  into  the  circle  of  the  affections  of  the  heart 
is  the  introduction  of  a  foul  demon  who  there  lords  it  over  you, 
and  torments  you  with  a  scorpion  sceptre  which  you  can  neither 
get  rid  of  nor  overcome,  except  by  the  forgiving  blood  of  the 
cross,  and  the  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

Sin,  too — this  sin  of  which  I  am  speaking — is  an  injury  done 
to  reason.  Not  that  the  sinner  does  not  reason :  avance  calcu- 
lates its  gains;  ambition  lays  its  plans;  sensuality  arranges  its 
prospective  indulgences;  dishonesty  schemes  and  plunders  most 
cleverly;  and  very  bad  men  may  be  very  clever  men; — yet  sin  is 
wrong  done  to  reason.  That  noble  faculty,  which  was  made  to 
trace  and  teach  the  footsteps  of  God,  is  degraded,  debased,  and 
made  a  mere  mercenary  calculating  machine  for  sensuality,  ava- 
rice, ambition,  dishonesty,  and  crime.  Sin  is  degradation  and 
wrong  done  to  reason. 

Sin  is  injury  done  to  the  soul  I  What  sickness  and  pain  are 
to  the  body — what  loss  is  to  the  estate — what  dishonour  is  to  the 
name — these,  and  more  than  these — and  felt  more  intensely  than 
these,  sin  is  to  the  soul. 

Sin  is  wrong  done  to  all  society :  it  is  the  ceaseless  epidemic 
that  is  never  stayed;  it  is  the  desolating  plague  for  which  thero 
is  no  earthly  cure.  What  explains  the  convulsions  of  the  earth, 
the  lawsuits,  the  quan-els,  the  disputes,  the  murders,  the  dis- 
honesty, by  which  society  in  some  of  its  sections  is  stained  ?  It 
is  the  contention  of  pride,  the  corroding  of  envy,  the  coldness 
of  distrust,  the  exactions  of  selfishness,  the  outbreaks  of  pas- 
sion. Sin  is  the  fever,  the  disease  that  tears,  and  wears,  and 
wastes  it. 

And  sin,  lastly,  is  hateful  to  God.  It  is  the  only  thing  in  the 
whole  universe  that  God  hates.  Not  the  sinner,  but  his  sin  does 
he  hate.     God  so  lovod  the  sinner,  that  he  gave  his  only  begot- 

26 


,302  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

ten  Son  that  that  sinner  might  be  saved.  God  so  hates  sin,  that 
rather  than  sin  should  triumph,  he  gave  the  blood  of  the  incar- 
nate Deity,  and  so  washed  it  away. 

And  this  sin,  my  dear  friends,  in  one  word,  is  oztrsin:  the  sin 
we  were  born  in — nursed  in;  the  sin  that  cleaves  to  all  man- 
kind; which  taints  our  purest  thoughts,  which  is  the  alloy  in 
our  holiest  feelings.  The  sin  that  offends  God,  and  is  the  con- 
ductor of  his  lightnings  to  the  earth,  is  our  sin.  There  is  no 
man  who  does  not  feel  that  it  is  so.  There  is  no  man  that  will 
not  say,  ^'I  have  sinned.^'  There  is  no  memory  that  does  not 
recollect  some  dark  shadow  that  has  swept  over  it;  no  conscience 
that  has  not  some  painful  quivering  in  it;  no  biography  that  has 
not  in  its  pages  something  it  has  done  which  it  feels  it  should 
not  have  done,  something  it  has  left  undone  which  it  feels  that 
it  ought  to  have  done;  and  there  are  few  that  feel  not  in  their 
best  moments  that  there  is  no  good  in  them. 

Such,  then,  in  few  words,  is  sin;  and  such  is  the  relationship 
of  sin  to  the  reason,  the  affections,  the  heart,  the  conscience,  so- 
ciety. It  is  the  only  thing  that  God  hates;  it  is  the  only  thing 
that  makes  hell.  I  believe  hell  does  not  consist  of  literal  flame 
any  more  than  of  a  literal  worm.  It  consists  of  far  more  terrible 
agony  than  that;  the  worm  that  never  dies,  is  the  conscience; 
the  fire  that  is  never  quenched,  is  sin.  Let  there  be  a  company 
of  drunkards,  thieves,  ambitious  men,  envious,  cruel,  sanguinary 
men — let  them  all  be  cast  together,  let  all  restraints  and  restric- 
tions be  withdrawn,  and  there  will  originate  and  burn  there  a 
hell  of  the  most  terrific  kind;  there  will  be  passions,  and  no 
means  to  indulge  them;  thirst,  and  no  supply  for  it;  ambition, 
and  no  thrones  to  gratify  it.  I  do  not  believe  we  have  anything 
like  an  adequate  appreciation  of  what  sin  is.  It  is  lightly  com- 
mitted; it  is  lightly  done;  but  years  upon  years  do  not  exhaust 
it.  But  blessed  be  God,  terrible  as  it  is,  there  is  no  sin,  though 
it  be  of  scarlet  dye  and  of  crimson  hue,  that  may  not  be  washed 
away  in  that  precious  blood  '4hat  cleanseth  from  all  sin.'' 

But,  in  the  next  place,  Daniel  not  only  admitted  sin  as  the 
cause  of  all;  but  in  this  eloquent,  because  simple  and  earnest 
prayer,  he  freely  and  fully  confessed  it.  The  constant  expres- 
sion that  he  uses  is,  ^'I  confessed;"   ''I  made  my  confession 


SIN,    CONFESSION,   AND  ABSOLUTION.  303 

unto  tlie  Lord;"  ^^I  said,  I  have  sinned,  and  have  done  wick- 
edly;''  ^'The  sins  that  we  have  sinned  have  brought  on  this 
great  evil." 

The  next  feature,  therefore,  in  this  prayer  which  I  proceed  to 
consider  is,  confession.  Confession,  if  truly  felt,  is  freely  ut- 
tered. There  are  two  sorts  of  confession:  there  is  the  confes- 
sion of  sin  extracted  by  unexpected  disaster,  or  by  the  foreboding 
of  a  deserved  judgment;  and  there  is  the  confession  of  sin 
freely  and  spontaneously  given  utterance  to.  When  Pharaoh 
was  under  the  judgments  of  God,  he  confessed  his  sins,  but 
he  did  it  as  if  it  were  an  atonement;  and  the  instant  that  the 
judgment  ceased,  the  monarch  returned  to  his  crimes.  We 
read  also  that  Balaam,  when  the  angel  withstood  him,  with  a 
sword  drawn  in  his  hand,  confessed  his  error :  and  Judas,  in  an 
agony  of  remorse,  and  amid  the  sparks  of  that  hell  which  his 
own  wickedness  had  kindled,  confessed  that  he  had  betrayed 
innocent  blood.  But  such  was  not  the  confession  that  Daniel 
made;  and  such  is  not  the  confession  to  which  the  Christian 
gives  expression.  The  Christian's  confession  of  sin  is  a  very 
different  thing.  Many  men  confess  their  sins  just  as  merchants 
in  a  storm  at  sea  cast  their  goods  overboard;  not  that  they  dis- 
like their  goods,  but  self-preservation  compels  them  to  fling  them 
away.  Their  confession  is  wrung  and  extorted  from  them,  not 
by  a  sense  of  the  hatefulness  of  sin,  but  from  a  desire — a  vain 
one,  I  admit — of  thereby  obtaining  security  from  the  judgment 
of  God;  but  a  Christian  sees  sin,  and  feels  sin,  to  be  hateful. 
What  pain  is  to  the  body,  that  a  Christian  feels  sin  to  be  to  the 
soul;  he  owns  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  it;  and  he  pours  out  his 
confession  of  it,  like  Daniel,  freely  and  spontaneously  before  God. 

In  the  next  place,  where  there  is  true  confession  of  sin,  and 
such  confession  as  Daniel  here  made,  it  is  full  and  explicit. 
Trace  at  your  leisure  every  clause  in  this  litany,  and  you  will 
see  how  full,  how  explicit,  is  the  confession  that  Daniel  makes 
of  every  sin  of  which  he  had  been  guilty.  The  unconverted 
who  confess  their  sins,  not  because  they  hate  them  and  feel  their 
burden,  but  because  they  would  be  rid  of  them  in  order  to  avoid 
the  consequences  that  they  apprehend,  and  in  order  to  escape 
the  judgments   that   they   fear,    make    but   a   half  confession. 


304  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

When  tliey  begin  to  confess,  they  say,  so  much  was  owing  to 
circumstances;  so  much  to  things  over  which  we  had  no  con- 
trol; so  much  to  constitutional  temperament;  so  much  to  some- 
body else:  just  as  did  our  first  parents,  whose  succession  we 
have  tiTily  inherited.  When  Adam  was  questioned  by  God,  he 
cast  the  blame  on  Eve :  when  Eve  was  threatened,  she  cast  the 
blame  on  the  serpent :  and  only  when  Christ  was  preached  in 
Paradise,  as  the  woman's  seed  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  did  Adam  and  Eve  kneel  at  the  family  altar,  and  make 
such  confession  as  Daniel  made,  free  and  full,  laying  all  the 
blame  upon  themselves,  none  upon  God. 

And,  in  the  next  place,  Daniel's  confession  was  specific. 
Wherever  there  is  genuine  confession,  it  will  always  be  personal 
and  specific.  In  public  prayer,  whether  it  be  the  prayer  that 
the  minister  breathes  as  the  mouth-piece  of  the  people,  or  the 
written  prayer  and  printed  which  he  reads,  and  prays  as  the 
mouth-piece  of  the  people, — in  either  case,  the  confession  cannot 
be  personal  and  specific.  It  must  be  a  general  confession  for  all 
who  are  there  present.  But  when  you  are  in  your  closet — when 
you  lift  your  hearts  to  God, — are  there  no  personal,  specific  sins, 
of  which  you  are  conscious,  and  for  which  your  own  heart  con- 
demns you? — and  "God  is  greater  than  your  hearts,  and  know- 
eth  all  things'^ — those  sins  you  ought,  and,  if  you  arg  Christians, 
you  will,  specially  unfold  and  acknowledge  before  Him  who 
alone,  for  Christ's  sake,  has  promised  to  forgive  them.  Thus  wo 
find  the  apostle  Paul,  when  he  acknowledged  his  sins  before 
others,  instead  of  trying  to  explain  them  away,  rather,  if  possi- 
ble, exaggerated  them.  In  Acts  xxvi.  9,  he  says,  '^I  truly 
thought  with  myself,  that  I  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to 
the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Which  thing  I  also  did  in  Jeru- 
salem: and  many  of  the  saints  did  I  shut  up  in  prison,  having 
received  authority  from  the  chief  priests;  and  when  they  were 
put  to  death,^'  he  says  substantially,  "when  I  could  not  kill 
them,  I  was  wicked  enough  to  give  my  voice  against  them; 
and,  more  than  this,  I  banished  them;  and,  more  than  this,  I 
persecuted  them  even  unto  strange  cities;  and,  more  than 
this,  I  punished  them  often  in  every  synagogue;  and,  worse 
than   this,   I   compelled   them  to   blaspheme."     What   a  dark 


SIN,    CONFESSION,    AND   ABSOLUTION.  305 

catalogue  of  grievous  crimes!  and  what  an  honest  acknowledg- 
ment of  them — specific,  minute,  not  diluted,  the  responsibility 
not  shifted,  not  confessing  them  to  glory  in  them,  or  as  if  he  did 
not  feel  their  weight  and  their  heinousness,  but  humbling  him- 
self, and  yet,  in  the  intimation  that  they  were  forgiven,  desiring 
to  show  us  that  God  had  mercy  upon  him,  the  chiefest  of  all  sin- 
ners, in  order  that  he  might  be  a  patterij  of  all  long-suffering 
and  mercy  to  those  that  should  hereafter  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Not  only  will  the  believer  be  specific  in  his  confession  of  sin, 
but  he  will  also  confess  with  deep  sorrow  and  humility.  He  will 
regret  that  he  has  sinned,  not  because  of  sin's  fruits,  but  because 
of  sin  itself;  and  one  of  the  greatest  evidences  of  your  soul  being 
in  a  state  of  grace,  is  when  you  can  confess  to  God,  and  ask  for- 
giveness from  God,  for  sins  that  the  world  knows  not,  but  for 
secret  sins — sins  that  nobody  suspected  you  of — of  thought,  of 
affection,  of  feeling,  of  heart — when,  in  short,  before  God  you 
confess  secret  sin,  and  seek  forgiveness  through  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  I  know  not  a  more  distinct  or  conclusive  evidence  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  changed  your  heart,  and  that  you  are  a  child  of 
God,  and  an  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  yet  all  this 
deep  confession  of  sin  before  God,  as  in  the  case  of  Daniel,  is 
not,  let  it  ever  be  recollected,  the  confession  of  a  criminal  in  the 
presence  of  a  judge,  deprecating  his  wrath,  but  the  confession  of 
a  son  returning  to  a  father,  and  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  his  father 
asking  his  paternal  blessing  and  forgiveness.  We  do  not  draw 
near  to  God  in  Jesus  Christ  as  criminals,  deprecating  his  wrath 
and  beseeching  his  forgiveness;  but  as  children — it  may  be,  pro- 
digal children — it  may  be,  sinful,  stray,  and  apostate — but  yet 
returning  children.  Never  did  the  prodigal  feel  what  true  re- 
pentance was  till  he  was  able  to  say,  -'  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
father.''  That  sentence  was  the  evidence  and  the  expression  of 
tl.iat  filial  feeling  with  which  he  confessed  to  him  his  sins  :  ^'  Fa- 
ther, I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  thee."  The  tear 
in  the  eye  must  not  dim  your  view  of  the  countenance  of  your 
Father.  The  sorrow  in  your  heart,  however  bitter,  must  not  drive 
you  from  God,  but  draw  you  nearer  to  God.  The  most  awful 
aspect  of  sin  is  its  centrifugal  force,  when  it  drives  the  sinner 

26* 


306  rROrilETIC  STUDIES. 

from  God.  Sin  is  then  about  to  Le  forgiven^  wlicn  you  fire  led  to 
lay  it  before  God.  Judas  confessed  his  sin^  that  he  had  betrayed 
innocent  blood — and  he  went  out  and  hanged  himself.  Cain  con- 
fessed his  sin — ^^Mine  iniquity  is  greater  than  I  can  bear;''  and 
he  ran  out  from  the  presence  of  God.  The  prodigal  confessed  his 
sin,  but  ran  to  his  father's  bosom,  and  to  the  threshold  of  his 
fiither's  house;  and  he^was  accepted,  while  the  two  first  perished 
in  their  sins,  unforgiven  and  without  hope. 

This  confession  of  sins,  my  dear  friends,  must  be  to  God  him- 
self. No  priest  upon  earth  has  a  right  to  exact  it.  No  church 
upon  earth  has  power  to  command  it  to  be  made  to  any  other 
than  God.  Show  me  one  text  in  the  Bible  that  indicates,  how- 
ever remotely,  that  we  ought  to  confess  our  sins  to  a  priest. 
'^Confess  your  sins  one  to  another,''  is  the  only  text  I  ever  have 
heard  quoted  in  support  of  it.  But  this  is  mutual,  or  reciprocal 
confession ;  not  the  confession  of  the  people  to  the  priest,  but  of 
the  people  one  to  another.  But  I  object  to  all  such  priestly  con- 
fession, on  this  ground, — that  sin  is  committed  against  God,  and 
against  God  only;  and  he  against  whom  it  is  committed  alone 
can  forgive  it.  For  instance,  if  I  were  to  steal,  I  should  do  two 
things;  I  should  commit  injury  on  my  neighbour,  and  sin  against 
God.  What  man  does  to  man,  man  can  forgive  ;  and  therefore 
I  ask  my  neighbour  to  forgive  the  injury  I  have  done  him.  But 
sin,  which  is  in  the  act  and  rises  higher,  and  strikes  against  God, 
that  God  alone  can  forgive;  and  therefore,  when  David  said, 
^'Against  thee — thee  only  have  I  sinned,"  he  did  not  mean  by 
that,  ^^  Against  thee  chiefly  have  I  sinned,"  but  truly  and  exactly. 
The  injury  or  wrong  was  done  to  Uriah  :  his  sin  was  against  God. 
And  thus,  then,  if  sin  be  committed  against  God  only,  for  a  priest 
to  assume  to  forgive  it  is  for  that  priest  to  play  the  apostate,  and 
place  himself  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were 
God.  Besides,  to  look  at  it  in  a  lower  light,  what  man  would  de- 
grade himself,  fallen  as  man  is,  to  kneel  before  a  fellow-man,  and 
disclose  to  him  the  inmost  thoughts  and  feelings  of  his  heart  ? 
liut  the  secret  of  the  upholding  of  that  terrible  tiibunal  at  which" 
1  have  only  glanced,  as  I  have  passed  along,  is  the  frightful  power 
which  is  comprised  in  it.  I  have  often  heard  persons  say,  that 
they  wonder  that,  when  lloman  Catholics  hear  the  gospel,  they  do 


SIN,  CONFESSION,  AND   ABSOLUTION.  307 

not  leave  their  church.  So  should  I  too,  did  I  not  rcmembcrj 
that  the  moment  you  become  a  Roman  Catholic  you  must  go  to 
the  priest — tell  him  every  fact  in  your  biography  that  you  think 
to  be  sin,  every  thought,  every  relationship,  every  connection;  the 
priest  learns  to  know  you,  your  history,  your  friends,  your  pros- 
pects, and  he  transmits  all  to  the  great  central  source  where  all  is 
known.  The  man  who  knows  me  as  well  as  I  know  myself,  is  my 
master  for  life,  and  I  am  his  slave.  His  look  can  awe  me,  his 
word  can  silence  me.  So  that  the  wonder  to  me  is,  not  that  so 
few  leave  the  Church  of  Rome,  when  once  they  are  involved  in 
its  meshes,  but  that  they  ever  leave  it  at  all.  Nothing  but  the 
grace  of  God  can  enable  them  so  to  count  all  but  loss  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus.  To  God,  then,  let  us 
confess  our  sins,  not  to  man.  For  "  to  the  Lord  our  God,^'  not 
to  the  priest  or  to  the  pope,  '^  belong  mercies  and  forgiveness, 
though  we  have  rebelled  against  him.^' 

And  this  leads  me,  therefore,  to  the  third  thought  which  is 
suggested  in  Daniel's  prayer — namely,  forgiveness  of  sin.  Sio, 
then,  may  be  forgiven.  ''  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  forgive- 
nesses,^' multiplied  acts  of  forgiveness  for  multiplied  acts  of  sin, 
or,  as  the  Psalmist  says,  "■  There  is  forgiveness  w^ith  thee,  that 
thou  mayest  be  feared;"  for,  as  he  proclaimed  himself  to  Moses, 
'^forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin."  When  God  forgives 
sin,  sin  is  not  annihilated :  a  fact  cannot  be  annihilated :  a  fact 
remains  in  our  memories,  sure  as  its  occurrence  in  the  world. 
When,  therefore,  God  forgives  sin,  he  does  not  annihilate  it.  As 
far  as  we  can  gather  from  the  Scriptures,  or  from  our  experience, 
this  is  impossible.  lie  forgives  it,  while  perhaps  we  cannot  forget 
it :  perhaps,  in  heaven,  the  sad  recollection  of  what  we  were  will 
add  to  the  enjoyment  of  what  we  are,  and  swell  with  richer  har- 
mony the  divine  thanksgiving  ''unto  him  that  loved  us,"  so 
guilty,  ''washed  us,"  even  us,  so  polluted,  "in  his  own  blood, 
and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  even  his  Father : 
to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever."  The  forgive- 
ness of  sin  is  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  God.  I  have  said  that 
sin  is  against  God  alone ;  and  therefore  God  alone  forgives  it. 
For  any  priest  to  assume  to  forgive  the  sins  of  men,  is  to  try  to 
snatch  a  jewel  which  belongs  to  the  diadem  of  Deity:  it  is  the 


308  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

foolish  attempt  to  clothe  ourselves  -with  a  portion  of  his  lofty- 
attributes^  and  so  to  realize  the  awful  fact,  that  he  who  attempts 
to  steal  a  ray  from  the  glory  of  God,  takes  a  consuming  curse 
into  his  bosom.  The  forgiveness  of  sin,  I  say,  is  the  inalienable 
prerogative  of  God.  He  only  has  the  key  that  opens,  and  no  man 
can  shut  j  and — blessed  be  his  name  that  it  is  so — he  only  shuts, 
and  no  man  can  open.  Were  all  the  voices  of  the  dead  we  have 
injured  to  rise  from  their  graves,  exclaiming,  ^'I  forgive,  I  forgive, 
I  forgive,^'  all  the  voices  of  all  the  dead  we  have  injured  together, 
never  could  extend  forgiveness  to  us.  That  one  still,  small  voice, 
sounding  from  the  cross,  or  echoed  unspent  from  the  throne,  "  My 
son — my  daughter — thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,^^  is  the  word  that 
alone  has  power,  the  absolution  that  alone  finds  a  responsive  echo 
in  the  glad  and  grateful  heart  of  the  forgiven  sinner.  But  when 
God  forgives — I  notice  in  the  next  place — he  forgives  only  in  one 
way;  that  is,  through  a  Mediator.  God's  concern  for  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  his  government  is  the  highest  concern  in  his 
divine  nature.  God  cannot  forgive  sin  at  the  expense  of  his  jus- 
tice, his  holiness,  or  his  truth.  He  tells  you  that  there  is  no  sin 
that  he  will  not  forgive  in  one  specific  way;  but  if  you  ask  for- 
giveness from  the  absolute  God,  that  is,  in  another  way,  or  if  you 
ask  it  because  you  deserve  it,  or  if  you  ask  it  in  any  other  name, 
or  through  any  other  mediator,  or  without  a  mediator  at  all — in 
short,  in  any  way  save  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  God  cannot 
give  it. 

There  is  but  one  channel,  and  that  channel  is  ever  accessible, 
and  through  that  channel  a  rich  flood  of  forgiveness  will  pour 
down,  that  \n\l  cleanse  the  darkest  sin,  and  forgive  the  greatest 
criminal.  The  Jews  were  taught  this  great  and  interesting  lesson 
for  four  thousand  years.  What  was  the  end  of  all  the  teaching 
of  the  Jews  ?  Just  to  rivet  and  work  into  their  hearts  this  great 
truth  :  "Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins.'' 
Men  say  they  wonder  why  God  desired  so  many  sacrifices,  and  ap- 
pointed so  many  bleeding  victims  among  that  people.  It  was  just 
to  teach  this  one  lesson,  which  was  embodied  in  every  sacrifice, 
impressed  in  every  ceremony,  preached  by  their  priests,  inculcated 
by  God  himself;  which,  notwithstanding,  they  forgot  and  re- 
nounced  again  and  again.     This  great  truth,  that  through  the 


SIN,  CONFESSION,  AND    ABSOLUTION.  309 

blood  of  Christ  alone  there  is  forgiveness,  is  still  the  truth 
preached  from  so  many  pulpits,  reiterated  so  often  in  your  hear- 
ing ;  and  yet,  how  little  do  you  feel  its  force  !  how  little  do  you 
act  upon  it  as  a  reality !  how  little  in  your  consciences  are  you 
conyinced  that  only  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  there  is  for- 
giveness for  the  least  sin  that  clings  to  our  humanity  !  Blessed 
be  God  that  Christ  suffered  !  Justice  asked  for  the  sufferings  of 
a  man — Christ  rendered  the  sufferings  of  a  God.  He  needed  no 
sufferings  to  atone  for  himself.  All  his  suffering  was  for  us,  and 
is  accessible  to  us.  His  susceptibility  of  suffering  was  just  in 
the  ratio  of  his  spotless  purity.  His  was  a  depth  of  agony  pro- 
portionate to  the  grandeur  and  dignity  of  his  person ;  and  never 
shall  we  be  able  to  see  how  great  were  the  sufferings  of  that  suf- 
fering one,  till  we  feel  perfectly  how  deep  is  the  least  sin  of  which 
humanity  is  guilty.  But  now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  God  is  faithful  in 
his  promise  to  forgive  us,  just  to  his  own  law  to  forgive  us;  his 
mercy  having  provided  to  the  utmost  fulness  the  victim  which  his 
justice  needed  and  demanded.  Thus  God  forgives  us.  What  a 
precious  truth  !  Do  we  rise  to  an  apprehension  of  the  magnifi- 
cence of  this  truth,  that  God  forgives  us — forgives  us  the  moment 
that  we  ask  it — delights  in  mercy  ?  Glorious  truth  !  God  waits 
to  forgive  us.  Glorious  truth  !  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee 
that  thou  mayest  be  feared.  Well  may  the  prophet  exclaim, 
^'  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and  pass- 
eth  by  the  transgression  of  the  remnant  of  his  heritage  ?  He 
retaineth  not  his  anger  for  ever,  because  he  delighteth  in 
mercy." 

Did  you  ever  notice,  my  dear  friends,  that  the  prophet  seems 
inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  exhaust  all  the  resources  of  hu- 
man speech,  in  order  to  show  us  what  free  forgiveness  is  offered 
in  the  gospel  ?  It  would  be  an  interesting  investigation  for  you 
to  pursue  at*  your  leisure,  to  count  the  expressions  applied  in 
Scripture  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  It  is  called  "  the  remission 
of  sins."  God  releases  the  prisoner  kept  in  the  prison  of  con- 
demnation by  his  sins.  God  says,  in  Hebrews,  "  I  Avill  remember 
their  sins  no  more."  Among  the  Jews  there  was  remembrance 
made  of  sin  every  year ;  they  felt  that  sin  ever  needed  a  fresh 
sacrifice,  but*  sin  forgiven  in  Christ  is  remembered  no  more.     It 


310  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

is  so  complete  that  God  finds  this  expression  only  adequate  to 
embody  the  extinction  of  it — "I  will  remember  their  sins  no 
more/'  He  calls  it  in  another  passage  ''  not  imputing  to  them 
their  trespasses/^  He  treats  our  sin  as  a  nonenity,  and  accepts 
us  through  Jesus  Christ  just  as  if  we  were  innocent  as  to  the  un- 
tainted and  unfallen  angels  about  the  throne.  Another  expres- 
sion that  he  employs  is,  '^covered;"  just  as  the  waters  of  the  Red 
Sea  covered  the  drowned  Egyptians — just  as  the  mighty  ocean 
covers  the  pebble  that  is  dropped  into  its  silent  bosom,  so  God's 
mercy  covers  our  sin.  It  is  called  again,  "  taking  away ;"  just  as 
the  goat  let  into  the  wilderness  bearing  the  sins  of  Israel  was 
represented  as  taking  them  away  into  a  land  not  inhabited :  so 
Christ,  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  takes  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  It 
is  called,  again,  "blotting  out/'  "I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth 
out  thy  transgressions,  and  as  a  cloud  thy  sins  :"  just  as  a  writing 
is  expunged — ^just  as  a  stain  is  extinguished  by  a  chemical  solu- 
tion. No  language  is  more  fitted  to  express  the  fulness  of  his 
forgiveness  than,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all 
sin."  It  is  called,  again,  in  another  place,  "  casting  them  behind 
his  back.''  The  most  awful  passage  in  Scripture  is,  "  Thou  hast 
set  my  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance."  We  our- 
selves cannot  see  our  secret  sins,  because  our  heart  is  so  deadened 
by  the  hardening  influence  of  sin  ;  for  the  greater  a  sinner  is, 
the  less  he  sees  his  sins ;  hence,  if  you  heard  the  holiest  saint  in 
the  act  of  confessing  his  sins,  you  would  suppose  he  was  the 
greatest  sinner  on  earth  •  and  if  you  heard  the  greatest  sinner 
confessing  his  sins,  you  would  probably  imagine  him  the  most 
excellent  of  mankind.  It  is  when  our  vision  is  purged  by  the 
unction  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  we  are  enabled  plainly  to  see, 
that  sins  which  in  the  world's  eye  are  microscopic,  are  in  his  eye 
deep  as  crimson,  or  as  purple  in  their  colour.  Our  secret  sins 
are  thus  set  in  "  the  light  of  his  countenance ;"  but  when  God 
forgives  them,  "he  casts  them  behind  his  back."  Another  pas- 
sage speaks  of  removing  them  from  us  :  "  As  far  as  the  east  .is 
from  the  west,  so  far  hath  he  removed  our  sins  from  us." 

He  whom  we  have  crucified,  forgives  us.  He  who  is  the  of- 
fended one,  forgives  the  offenders.  It  is  a  royal  and  entire  forgive- 
ness, not  one  charge  is  left  behind,  not  one  sin  i.^  unpardoned. 


SIN,  CONFESSION,  AND   ABSOLUTION.  311 

He  will  remember  our  sins  and  our  transgressions  no  more.  It  is 
an  irrevocable  forgiveness.  When  God  forgives  us,  he  forgives 
us  completely  and  irrevocably.  God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our 
thoughts.  He  does  not  repeal  his  acts  of  forgiveness.  He  never 
recalls,  he  never  revokes  them.  He  forgives  us  fully,  freely,  and 
for  ever.  And  it  is  instant  forgiveness.  The  instant  that  an 
humble  heart  asks  for  forgiveness  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  that  in- 
stant it  is  forgiven  :  the  Saviour  says,  "  Thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee.''  It  is  a  cordial  forgiveness.  It  is  not  a  legal  forgiveness ; 
so  that  we  are  not  merely  lawfully  forgiven,  as  if  by  justice;  but 
it  is  a  paternal  forgiveness.  If  only  legally  forgiven  by  justice, 
we  should  be  admitted  into  heaven  as  forgiven  culprits,  and 
shunned  as  criminals  returned  from  a  penal  settlement.  We 
should  be  as  men  lawfully  forgiven,  and  tolerated  as  deeply 
guilty.  But  this  is  not  the  forgiveness  of  the  Bible.  It  is  for- 
giveness in  justice,  and  therefore  it  is  legal ;  but  it  is  also  for- 
giveness from  a  Father's  heart,  and  is  therefore  a  cordial  forgive- 
ness. And  therefore  the  sinner  admitted  into  heaven  is  not  only 
admitted  there  as  lawfully  forgiven,  but  cordially  welcomed  : 
"  For  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ;  was  lost,  and  is 
found."  This  forgiveness  is  an  echo  on  earth  to  the  absolution 
that  is  pronounced  from  the  throne.  The  echo  is  an  evidence  of 
the  original.  If  you  are  forgiven,  do  you  recollect  the  day,  the 
hour,  and  the  place  when  you  bowed  the  knee  and  sought  forgive- 
ness truly,  confessing  your  sins  fully,  and  relying  for  an  answer 
to  your  prayer  only  on  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  ?  If 
you  can  say  that  from  the  very  heart  you  sought  it,  and  that  you 
sought  it  by  Jesus  as  the  only  way,  you  are  indeed  forgiven,  and 
it  is  sin,  it  is  misery  to  doubt  it.  Go  forth  at  once,  putting  away 
all  suspicion,  and  henceforth  rejoice  in  the  blessedness  of  him 
whose  sins  are  forgiven,  being  confident  in  God,  relying  on  the 
riches  of  his  mercy  in  Christ;  and  him  that  thus  honours  him, 
He  will  abundantly  honour. 


312 


LECTURE  XXII. 

Daniel's  litany. 

"  0  Lord,  hear ;  0  Lord,  forgive ;  0  Lord,  hearken  and  do ;  defer  not,  for 
thine  own  sake,  0  my  God :,  for  thy  city  and  thy  peoi^lo  are  called  by  thy 
name." — Daniel  ix.  19. 

I  CLOSE  my  remarks  on  tlie  extremely  precious  prayer  which 
has  been  the  subject  of  my  exposition  during  the  last  three 
lectures.  I  am  sure  we  do  not  greatly  need  any  liturgy  formed 
by  man,  if  we  have  access  to  so  beautiful  a  litany  as  this  is, 
inspired  by  Grod.  At  all  events,  however  beautiful  may  be  the 
litanies  of  man,  in  true  beauty  they  cannot  excel,  and  in  compre- 
hensiveness they  cannot  exceed,  the  prayer  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  breathed  into  the  heart  of  Daniel,  and  of  which  this  chapter 
is  the  eloquent  and  striking  expression.  How  earnest — how 
intensely  earnest — are  such  petitions  as  these:  ^^0  Lord,  hear; 
0  Lord,  forgive ;  0  Lord,  hearken  and  do ;  defer  not,  for  thine 
own  sake ;  for  thy  city  and  thy  people  are  called  by  thy  name.'' 
And  again,  how  striking  these  words :  "  Thou  therefore,  0  our 
God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  that  the  time,  the  set  time, 
to  favour  her,  0  Lord,  draw  near."  At  this  day  this  is  the 
prayer  of  the  Jew.  I  can  conceive  no  spectacle  more  touching 
than  the  weary-footed  wanderer  of  Salem  coming  back  to  that 
city,  in  which  was  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the  cherubim  of 
glory,  that  shone  upon  the  mercy-seat ;  and  beholding,  with  deep 
anguish,  the  barefooted  monk  desecrating  it  in  one  place,  by  li 
Christianity  more  superstitious  than  the  Judaism  of  the  modern 
Jew,  and  the  Moslem  profaning  it  in  another  place  by  the  per- 
sonation of  a  cruel  and  sanguinary  imposture ;  and  his  beloved 
city,  which  v/as  once  the  joy  of  the  v/holc  earth,  the  focus  of  all 


DANIEL'S   LITANY.  313 

light,  and  the  central  object  of  enthusiastic  love,  despoiled,  de- 
graded, desecrated.  Yet,  in  its  deep  desecration,  its  lo*Qg-con- 
tinued  degradation,  God  has  left  inextinguishable  yearnings  after 
restoration  in  the  hearts  of  that  strikinfv  race — these  living 
national  phenomena,  that  exceed  in  grandeur  all  material  phe- 
nomena— these  living  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  God's  threats,  and 
I  believe  not  less  so  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  God's  promises. 
Nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  to  see  the  Jews  crowding  from 
all  lands,  now  that  the  restoration  of  Zion  and  the  rebuilding  of 
Jerusalem  draws  nigh,  kissing  the  very  stones,  wetting  them  with 
their  tears,  and  praying,  it  may  be,  a  prayer  truly  heard — for  it 
is  possible — shall  we  say  it  is  not  improbable — that  the  Jews  v/ho 
rejected  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  portrayed  by  John  the  evangelist, 
may  unconsciously  accept  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  portrayed  by 
Isaiah  the  prophet,  and  in  the  name  of  the  true  Messiah,  though 
that  name  is  to  him  no  music,  he  may  lift  up  Daniel's  prayer  to 
Daniel's  God — in  groups  of  gray-haired  pilgrims  amid  the  debris 
and  wreck  of  Jerusalem,  that  God  would  arise  and  have  mercy 
upon  Zion,  and  lift  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon  her,  and 
hasten  the  advent  of  the  set  time  to  favour  her. 

In  reading  the  whole  of  Daniel's  prayer  for  Jerusalem,  we 
cannot  fail  to  see  that  it  is  as  appropriate  in  the  present  day  as  it 
was  before.  I  am  anxious  to  notice  certain  features  in  it,  which 
must  strike  the  Christian,  whether  he  peruse  it  or  pray  it.  I 
have  already  shown  in  what  respects  fasting  and  sackcloth  are 
connected  with  prayer.  I  have  shown,  in  my  next  exposition, 
sin  the  thing  confessed,  forgiveness  the  blessing  sought  for,  and 
confession  a  practice  in  which  Daniel  persevered.  I  now  proceed 
to  develop  some  of  the  features  of  this  prayer ;  next,  the  time  at 
which  it  was  offered ;  and,  in  the  third  place,  the  answer  vouch- 
safed to  it.  The  first  feature  that  strikes  me,  as  kindling  every 
clause  with  brightness  and  the  warmth  of  heavenly  fire,  is  the 
intensity  of  the  feelings  and  the  expressions  of  Daniel.  Clearly 
the  prophet  felt  deeply,  and  therefore  he  asked  so  fervently.  An 
instant  token,  as  all  are  aware,  of  an  accepted  sacrifice  in  the 
elder  times,  was  the  descent  of  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  the 
sacrifice.  Even  so  the  first  intimation  to  you  that  your  prayer 
will  be   answered,  is   the   intensity  with  which  you  pray  that 

27 


314  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

prayer.  When  a  man  earnestly  and  intensely  breathes  a  prayer  to 
God,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  he  has  in  that  intensity  and  earnest- 
ness a  fore-pledge  from  Grod  that  he  is  about  to  answer  it  exceed- 
ing abundantly  above  all  that  he  can  either  ask  or  think.  Those 
eloquent  prayers  which  are  beautifully  worded  by  some,  never 
rise  above  the  lips  by  which  they  are  uttered ;  but  those  broken 
sentences,  those  simple  petitions,  when  the  full  heart  feels  so 
deeply  and  prays  so  earnestly,  when  it  cannot  wait  for  unloading 
itself,  in  order  to  seek  for  fine  words  or  beautifully  formed  sen- 
tences— these  are  the  expressions  of  an  inner  celestial  fire  that 
burns  before  the  Lord,  and  brings  responses  from  the  skies,  laden 
with  everlasting  benedictions.  The  intensity  of  Daniel's  prayer 
is  one  of  its  most  striking  characteristics ;  the  incense  which  was 
used  of  old  was  already  kindled  in  the  censer,  before  the  smoke 
of  it  rose  to  the  dome  of  the  temple;  and  in  the  same  way, 
prayers,  to  be  accepted  by  God,  must  not  only  be  presented  in 
the  name  of  Jesus — which  does  not  moan  merely  mentioning 
that  name,  but  feeling  that  only  by  one  channel  can  prayer  ascend 
to  God — that  only  through  one  name  can  they  be  heard,  that  is, 
in  the  name  of  Jesus — but  prior  to,  and  in  addition  to  this,  the 
prayer  itself,  as  conceived  and  cherished  in  the  heart,  must  be 
kindled  from  above.  In  the  old  sacrifices,  there  must  not  only 
be  no  strange  altar,  but  also  there  must  be  no  strange  fire  used 
for  consuming  the  victims  on  that  altar.  There  must  be  the 
right  fire  as  well  as  the  right  altar.  So  we  must  not  only  pray  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  but  by  the  inspiration  and  kindling  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  will  explain  what  is  meant  when  it  is  said 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  within  us  "maketh  intercession  for  us,  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered. ^^  Thus,  if  your  petitions  to 
the  throne  of  grace  have  no  intensity  spontaneously  arising  from 
inward  earnest  feeling,  created  by  a  deep  sense  of  your  wants  and 
a  keen  perception  of  the  excellence  of  what  you  require,  and 
these  twain  inspired  and  elevated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  will 
die  ere  they  reach  the  mercy-seat.  Let  a  coal,  not  from  the- 
grate,  but  from  the  altar,  kindle  them.  Let  the  affections  not  be 
earthly,  from  and  of  the  earth,  but  spiritual  and  heavenl}^;  and 
such  prayer  so  kindled  and  so  presented,  it  is  as  certain  that  God 
will  hear  and  answer,  not  only  for  ourselves  but  for  others  also, 


DANIEL'S   LITANY.  315 

as  that  the  sun  rises,  and  stars  twinkle,  and  streams  find  a  path- 
way onward  to  the  unsounded  main.  If  we  look  at  some  of  the 
expressions  scattered  throughout  the  Bible,  in  order  to  describe 
this  peculiarity  of  real  prayer,  we  shall  find  they  all  denote 
intensity.  In  one  place  it  is  described  as  importunity;  that  is, 
not  soon  going  away  without  an  answer — unweariedly  persisting 
in  asking.  God  does  not  say,  "  Pray  once,  and  I  will  answer 
you;'^  but  he  says,  ^'Pray,  and  I  will  answer  you."  Pray  nine 
times,  and  he  may  not  answer;  pray  a  hundred  times,  and  he  may 
not  answer;  but  pray  the  hundred  and  first  time,  and  he  may 
answer.  All  that  he  has  said  is,  that  he  will  answer;  but  how 
long,  or  how  often  you  may  pray,  that  is  not  for  you  to  know :  it 
remains  with  Grod  alone,  who  knows  what  is  really  best  for  jou^ 
and  most  for  his  glory.  I  do  not  believe,  my  dear  friends,  that 
we  liave  that  confidence  in  the  success  and  efiicacy  of  pra3'cr 
which  we  ought  to  have.  I  do  not  mean  by  prayer,  artificial 
prayer;  that  is,  artificially  worded  and  constructed;  I  do  not 
mean  reading  or  saying  a  prayer,  however  scriptural  and  beauti- 
ful ;  but  I  mean  the  uplifting  of  the  heart,  the  breathing  forth  of 
desire,  the  elevation  of  the  soul  when  no  eye  can  see,  and  no  ear 
can  hear,  but  God's.  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  unless  thou  bless 
me."  I  doubt  not  that  some  of  the  most  successful  prayers  are 
uttered  on  the  stones  of  the  Royal  Exchange.  Some  of  the  most 
fervent  prayers  may  be  uttered  behind  a  counter :  and  the  House 
of  Lords  and  the  House  of  Commons  are  not  without  men  that 
pray,  not  only  that  they  may  devise  right  measures,  but  that 
those  measures  may  contribute  to  the  stability  of  their  country, 
and  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  extension  of  true  religion.  It 
is  not  the  place  that  God  examines ;  nor  is  it  the  words  that  God 
primarily  regards;  it  is  not  the  form  in  any  sense  that  avails — 
it  is  tliG  intense  and  ardent  desire  breathed  from  the  depths  of  the 
heart  into  the  ear  of  God,  which  God  answers  exceeding  abun- 
dantly above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think. 

Shame,  sorrow  for  sin,  perfect  abasement,  are  elements  of 
Christian  prayer.  Not  one  merit  does  Daniel  plead  ;  not  one 
good  deed  does  he  commemorate  :  he  lays  his  hand  upon  his 
mouth,  and  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  and  cries,  "  Unclean,  un- 
clean."    It  is  the  bowed  heart,  not  the  bowed  knee,  that  honours 


816  PROniETIC    STUDIES. 

Jesus.  It  is  tlie  prostration  of  the  soul,  not  the  prostration  of 
the  body,  that  constitutes  prayer.  The  outward  man  is  merely 
for  communication  with  man  ;  it  is  the  inward  soul  that  com- 
municates with  Godj  and  God  regards  it  and  deals  with  it  alone. 
The  body  is  not  the  man.  What  the  body  does  is  not  always 
what  the  soul  thinks.  Man's  body  is  often  guilty  of  hypocrisy, 
but  the  soul  never,  at  least  in  the  sight  of  God.  To  man  it 
is  the  same  whether  you  bow  the  knee,  or  fall  flat  on  the  face; 
for  all  these  are  scriptural  attitudes  of  prayer;  the  only  un- 
scriptural  practice  being  that  which  prevails  very  much  in  Scot- 
land, when  the  people  sit  while  worshipping  God  and  singing  his 
praises,  for  which  there  is  no  precedent  whatever.  The  form  is  not 
what  God  looks  at;  he  looks  how  the  heart  beats,  how  the  spirit  feels, 
what  the  soul  desires,  what  is  the  intensity  of  the  feeling,  what 
is  the  earnestness  or  apathy  of  the  man ;  and  by  what  the  man 
thinks,  desires,  prays  with  his  soul,  God  estimates  what  the 
prayer  is.  It  is  not,  therefore,  sprinkling  ashes  on  the  head, 
or  clothing  the  body  with  sackcloth,  which  are  appreciated  on 
high.  But  if  we  see  ourselves  as  we  ought,  and  as  Daniel  saw 
himself,  Vv^e  shall  soon  feel  that  inward  and  deep  abasement  and 
humility  which  Daniel  felt,  and  which  urged  no  plea  save  what 
it  drew  from  God.  It  is  ignorance  of  ourselves,  and  distance 
from  God,  which  is  the  cause  of  that  ignorance,  that  makes  any 
man  proud  or  self-righteous.  The  moment  that  a  man  sees  God 
as  he  is,  he  sees  in  the  reflected  light  himself,  just  as  he  him- 
self is  also :  but  as  long  as  he  does  not  know  God,  so  long  he 
will  think  himself  very  great  and  very  good.  In  God's  light 
we  see  our  darkness;  in  God's  fulness  our  wants;  in  God's 
majesty  our  insignificance;  our  shame  in  his  glory;  our  sin  in 
his  holiness:  and  thus,  when  Job  saw  God,  he  exclaimed,  ''Now 
mine  eye  seeth  him ;  therefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in 
dust  and  ashes." 

And  when  Isaiah  saw  the  glory  of  God,  beholding  him  seated 
upon  a  throne  high  and  lifted  up,  his  first  emotion  was  to  cry, 
"Wo  is  me,  for  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  live  in 
the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  Elijah  covered  his  face  with 
his  mantle  when  the  glory  of  the  Lord  swept  by,  and  the  apo- 


DANIEL'S   LITANY.  317 

caljptic  elders  fell  down  and  covered  their  faces,  while  they 
cried,  "Holy,  Holj^,  Holy  is  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts."  Prido 
in  man  is  invariably  associated  with  ignorance  of  God.  But 
when  we  see  what  God  is,  as  he  is  revealed  in  grace — portrayed 
in  the  Bible — unvailcd  all  that  he  has  done,  we  then  see  as 
we  never  saw,  what  we  ourselves  are,  and  how  deep  is  the  depth 
of  our  fall;  and  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  we  shall  pray  under 
a  sense  of  abasement,  not  the  less  intensely,  but  the  more  humbly, 
because  our  eyes  have  seen  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  too,  in  this  bcaiftiful  prayer,  that  all 
the  pleas  urged  by  Daniel  are  pleas  drawn  from  God ;  not  from 
any  thing  in  himself,  or  any  excellence  m  his  people.  Thus  he 
says,  in  one  verse,  "  All  Israel  have  transgressed  thy  law,  even 
by  departing,  that  they  might  not  obey  thy  voice;  therefore  the 
curse  is  poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath  that  is  written  in  the 
law  of  JMoses  the  servant  of  God,  because  we  have  sinned  against 
him,  " 

'^0  Lord,  according  to  thy  righteousness,  I  beseech  thee,  let 
thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned  away  from  thy  city  Jeru- 
salem, thy  holy  mountain :  because  for  our  sins,  and  for  the 
iniquities  of  our  fathers,  Jerusalem  and  thy  people  are  become 
a  reproach  to  all  that  are  round  about  us.  Now,  therefore,  0 
our  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  and  his  supplications, 
and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy  sanctuary  that  is  desolate, 
for  the  Lord's  sake.''  Every  plea  he  presents  is  drawn  from 
God;  the  foundation  of  his  hopes  is  in  Deity;  our  expectation, 
also,  and  our  merit,  are  there ;  the  good  of  man  is  inseparable 
from  the  glory  of  God.  God  cannot — reverently  be  it  spoken 
— bless  a  man  except  that  blessing  shall  reflect  his  own  glory. 
To  unfold  himself  is  the  great  end  of  all  God's  creation,  pro- 
vidence, and  grace;  and  to  promote  his  own  glory  by  making 
himself  known  to  us,  is  the  reason  why  he  answers  prayer  and 
makes  his  people  happy ;  and  blessed  be  his  name,  his  glory  is 
best  promoted  when  his  goodness  and  his  mercy  are  most  realized 
by  his  people.  Who  does  not  recollect  the  petition  of  Moses, 
"Show  me  thy  glory?"  and  the  Lord's  answer,  '^'I  will  make 
all  my  goodness  pass  before  thee  V  G  od's  goodness  was  pro- 
nounced by  God  to  be  his  glory.    And  what  was  God's  glory  ?    Here 

27- 


318  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

it  is :  ^^  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  cove- 
nant and  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression, 
and  sin/^  What  a  blessed  fact  is  this,  that  God  is  arrayed  in 
richer  glory  when  he  stoops  to  forgive  a  sinner,  that  when  he 
stoops  to  create  a  world !  Jesus,  when  he  said  upon  the  cross, 
to  the  thief  who  hung  in  agony  at  his  side,  ^'  To-day  shalt  thou 
be  with  me  in  paradise,^^  s|)oke  more  majestic  words  than  when, 
standing  on  the  couiSnes  of  the  universe.  He  said,  ''Let  there 
be  light,  and  there  was  light/'  We  ask  God  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  express  his  love ;  we  ask  him  also  to  manifest  his 
justice,  for  he  is  "  fliithful  and  just;''  but  we  may  also  say, 
'^  0  God,  glorify  thy  name  in  forgiving  the  sins  of  me  a  sinner." 
We  cannot  but  notice,  in  this  prayer  of  Daniel,  in  the  next 
place,  the  complete  unselfishness,  if  I  may  use  that  expression, 
that  runs  through  the  whole  of  it.  He  did  not  ask  mercies  for 
himself;  he  did  not  pray  thus  intensely,  thus  humbly,  that  he 
alone  might  have  all  the  good,  though  God  might  have  all  the 
glory;  but  he  implored  mercies  for  "thy  people  Israel" — "thine 
ancient  city  Jerusalem,  because  it  was  desolate."  A  man  never 
prays  aright  who  prays  only  for  himself.  That  prayer  is  not 
inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  that  ends  with  the  salvation  or 
the  sanctification  of  self.  Hence  our  Lord,  in  giving  us  a  model 
of  prayer,  has  made  it  impossible  to  pray  for  a  blessing  on 
ourselves  without  praying  for  a  blessing  on  others  also,  as  if 
in  our  very  prayers  our  blessed  Lord  would  make  us  pray  as 
he  makes  us  love,  embracing  in  both  our  neighbour  as  well  as 
ourselves.  He  says,  '^  After  this  manner  pray  ye;"  not,  '^My 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  thy  name,  &c.,  give 
me  this  day  771?/  daily  bread."  Such  is  the  cry  of  unsanctified 
humanity ;  but,  "  Our  Father . .  .  give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,"  &c.  And  so  Daniel  here  i)rays;  and  so  will  every  true 
Christian  pray.  He  will  pray  for  his  children — his  relations 
— his  congregation — his  church-^his  country;  and  more  com- 
prehensively still,  he  will  pray  for  all  mankind.  There  is  a 
petition  which  occurs  in  the  Litany  of  the  Church  of  England, 
at  the  conclusion  of  prayers  for  many  distinct  classes  of  people, 
"That  it  may  please  thee  to  have  mercy  upon  all  men!"  which 


DANIEL'S    LITANY.  819 

is  to  my  mind  singularly  beautiful.  Let  us  not  rest  in  our 
petitions  for  class  after  class  till  our  prayers  spread  in  their 
catholicity  to  the  very  circumference  of  the  globe,  and  we  pray 
God,  "that  it  may  please  him  to  have  mercy  upon  all  men. " 

In  the  next  place  we  may  notice,  in  this  prayer,  what  runs 
through  it  no  less  evidently,  the  thorough  patriotism  of  it.  Be- 
cause Daniel  was  a  Christian,  he  did  not  cease  to  be  a  Jew ;  be- 
cause he  loved  the  temple  of  his  God,  he  did  not  the  less  love 
the  country  of  his  fathers  :  Daniel  sympathized  with  and  was 
ready  to  make  every  patriotic  sacrifice,  in  order  to  benefit  and 
bless  his  country ;  but  he  felt  at  the  same  time  that  it  never 
could  be  prosperous  as  a  country  until  its  Great  Restorer  should 
have  mercy  upon  it,  and  forgive  the  sins  of  his  people,  and,  to 
use  the  language  of  the  prayer,  cause  "his  face  to  shine  upon 
it.  ^^  Not  the  greatest  patriots  are  those  that  make  the  loudest 
profession;  not  the  least  patriots  are  those  who  only  pray  be- 
cause prayer  is  all  they  can  present.     Our  armies  ma}^  strike  a 


easure 


successful  blow,  our  legislature  may  pass  an  excellent  m 
but  the  blessing  of  God,  for  which  Christians  pray,  is  that  which 
will  make  the  blow  of  the  one  permanent,  and  the  measure  of  the 
other  practical  and  extensively  useful.  And  hence  it  has  been 
well  said — 

"Our  country  owes 
Her  sunshine  and  her  rains,  her  blooming  springs, 
And  plenteous  harvests,  to  the  prayer  he  makes, 
"Where  Enoch,  like  the  solitary  saint, 
Walks  forth  to  meditate  at  eventide. 
And  think  on  her  who  thinks  not  on  herself. " 

Thus  there  may  be  patriots  in  cellars,  whose  name  the  newspaper 
does  not  trumpet  forth ;  there  may  be  men  who  contributed  to  the 
victory  of  "Waterloo,  or  to  the  decisi\'e  blow  of  Trafalgar,  and 
who  still  contribute  to  the  loyalty  of  our  people,  the  stability  of 
our  commerce,  and  to  the  riches  and  increasing  prosperity  of  our 
agriculture,  who  never  used  a  pen,  or  wielded  a  sword,  or  marched 
to  victory  beneath  our  banners,  but  who  pray  that  old  England's 
God  would  cause  His  face  to  shine  upon  England's  throne,  and 
altars,  and  people,  and  magistrates,  and  rulers ;  and  they,  it  will 
be  found,  when   this  world  is  all  laid  bare,  and  its  history  made 


320  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

patent,  contributed  more  than  all  to  our  national  stability  and 
social  prosperity,  and  were  the  conductors  of  blessings  from  tlie 
skies  to  her  cities.  Thus  the  prophet  prayed  for  his  country,  and 
thereby  showed  himself  no  less  the  patriot  because  he  was  the 
Christian. 

But  Daniel  strikingly  combined  with  his  prayer  deep  research 
and  personal  labour.  For  you  observe  that  he  states  in  verse  2, 
^'In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  I  Daniel  understood  by  books  the 
number  of  the  years,  whereof  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jere- 
miah the  prophet,  that  he  would  accomplish  seventy  years  in  the 
desolations  of  Jerusalem. ''  He  had  therefore  been  a  hard  student, 
as  well  as  a  spiritually  minded  and  praying  man.  He  combined, 
what  some  of  our  Reformers  said  it  was  so  vitally  important  to 
combine — "  prayer  and  pains-taking.  " 

We  too  are  to  engage  in  any  great  Christian  work,  the  sup- 
port of  our  schools,  for  instance,  or  of  our  missions,  the  Bible 
Society,  the  extension  of  the  gospel,  in  the  exercise  of  all  the 
liberality,  zeal,  and  fervour,  which  we  possess,  or  can  command, 
just  as  if  all  depended  on  what  we  each  do;  and  yet  we  are  to 
implore  the  blessing  of  God,  with  that  deep  sense  of  depend- 
ence, that  consciousness  of  insufficiency  on  our  part,  which 
prompts  the  persuasion  that  God  must  do  all,  or  nothing  will  be 
well  done.  It  seems  a  paradox  to  unenlightened  minds,  and  a 
cqntradiction  to  the  wise  of  this  world,  but  it  is  not  so:  the 
farmer  feels  justly  in  his  matters  what  the  Christian  should  feel 
here :  he  knows  quite  well  that,  unless  God  give  sunbeams  and 
clewdrops,  and  fertility  to  the  soil,  it  will  be  no  use  for  him  to 
sow;  and  he  knows  just  as  well,  that  in  vain  God  gives  sun- 
beams and  dewdrops,  fresh  air  and  a  fertile  soil,  unless  he  sows. 
Therefore  he  does  sow;  and  thus,  what  with  some,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  a  perverse  mind,  at  first  seems  a  reason  why  he  should 
not  sow,  is  with  him  the  greatest  inducement  to  do  so,  because 
he  knows  that  God  will  send  "  the  former  and  the  latter  rain  in 
his  season,"  and  that  He  has  promised,  since  the  deluge,  "  that 
seed  time  and  harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and  win- 
ter, and  day  and  night,  shall  not  cease." 

But  Daniel's  study  was  not  only  the  study  of  the  Bible  and 
books,  as  the  grand  depository  of  truth,  but  it  was  also  special 


DANIEL'S   LITxVNY.  321 

study  of  the  proplietic  Scriptures.  He  thus  presents  a  complete 
reply  to  those  Christians  who  say  that  we  are  not  called  upon,  or 
even  authorized,  to  study  unfulfilled  prophecy.  Daniel  did  not 
think  so;  he  studied  predictions  of  the  future,  and  found  out  by 
books  that  God  would  accomplish  seventy  years  in  the  desolation 
of  Jerusalem.  He  not  only  discovered  that  God  would  termi- 
nate this  desolation,  but  he  found  out  the  very  period  of  time 
that  this  desolation  would  last;  and  yet  if  a  Christian  minister 
professes,  not  dogmatically,  to  pronounce,  where  confessedly  there 
are  many  difficulties,  but  to  express  his  belief  from  this  book 
and  the  apocalyptic  records,  that  the  time  draws  near — that  the 
dispensation  is  in  its  eve — it  will  be  told  him,  ''You  have  no 
right  to  study  this  book,  you  have  no  right  to  read  the  Apoca- 
lypse at  all :  you  had  better  shut  it  up :  let  it  alone,  or  you  will 
get  into  difficulties.^'  Why  did  God  give  it?  I  ask  those  who 
say  so.  Why  did  God  write  it?  You  say  it  was  that  infidels 
may  afterward  be  converted  by  witnessing  in  history  the  ful- 
filment of  prophecy:  but  half  of  that  will  not  be  fulfilled  till 
the  Millennium,  when  there  will  be  no  infidels  to  be  converted. 
This  is  not  its  only  use.  It  is  for  us  to  study,  and  to  try  to  ex- 
pound it.  But  God  himself  has  said  what  terminates  the  dis- 
pute, ''  Blessed  is  he  that  rcadeth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book;''  and  in  my  own  case  I  may  say  that  I  have  found  as 
rich  a  blessing  from  reading  and  studying  the  Apocalypse,  as  in 
studying  any  other  portion  of  the  Bible.  Ponder  and  pray  over 
all  that  God  has  written.  The  Protestant's  rule  of  faith  is  not  the 
Bible  without  the  Apocalj^se,  but  it  is  the  Bible  and  the  Apoca- 
lypse, the  whole  word  of  God.  Here  you  have  the  example  of 
Daniel  studying  numbers  before  those  numbers  had  terminated 
in  actual  accomplishment;  and  what  Daniel  did  with  acceptance 
then,  I  do  not  see  why  we  may  not  try  to  do,  with  humble 
prayer  for  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  with  his  bless- 
ing now. 

Let  us  notice,  in  the  next  place,  the  time  at  which  Daniel 
prayed.  It  was  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation.  The  answer 
came  at  that  hour,  and  the  presumption  is  that  the  prayer  was 
then  being  offered  up.  But  why  did  Daniel  select  this  season  for 
prayer?     Because  Daniel  felt  just  what  you  well  know — that,  dis- 


322  PEOPIIETIC    STUDIES. 

sociated  from  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  and  detached  from  liis  name, 
no  prayer  can  be  accepted  of  God.  This  great  tnith  is  the  very 
substance  of  the  gospel.  Your  prayers  should  be  offered  in  the 
name  of  Christ;  in  him  they  should  begin,  in  Christ  they  should 
continue  and  close.  By  him  alone  is  the  way  to  rise  to  God. 
By  him  alone,  as  the  way,  can  an  answer  come  down  from  God. 
It  matters  not  where  you  pray,  if  you  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
The  Christian  economy  has  abolished  all  the  distinctions  of  time 
and  place.  "What  is  decent,  what  is  orderly,  what  is  convenient, 
these,  and  the  consideration  of  all  these,  are  most  right;  but  if 
you  say  that  an  oratory  in  your  house  is  better  for  family  wor- 
ship than  your  drawing  or  your  dining-room,  because  it  has  been 
consecrated  by  a  presbyter  or  a  bishop;  or  if  you  say  that  God 
will  hear  a  prayer  in  Latin  that  he  will  not  hear  in  Hindostanee 
or  in  English,  or  that  he  will  hear  in  a  chapel  what  he  will  not 
hear  in  a  private  house;  if  these  be  your  sentiments,  you  are  far 
gone  in  Romanism ;  or,  rather,  your  creed  is  more  ancient  than 
that  of  Romanism,  it  is  that  of  Levi,  a  reflex  to  Judaism :  pray- 
ers under  that  dispensation  must  have  been  made  in  one  place  in 
order  to  be  accepted ;  sacrifice  must  then  have  been  offered  on 
one  particular  altar;  but  now,  wheresoever,  on  mountain  crag,  in 
valle}^,  on  the  sea,  on  the  shore,  in  the  dungeon,  or  in  the  palace; 
in  cathedral,  church,  or  chapel ;  in  chancel  or  in  cellar;  with 
bowed  knee,  or  standing,  or  prostrate,  or  with  none  of  them — if 
there  be  prayer  inspired  by  the  Sf)irit  of  God,  intensely  felt,  and 
addressed  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  to  our  Father, 
there  God  hears,  and  there  God  will  answer. 

But  there  may  have  been  another  reason  for  Daniel's  praying 
at  evenings.  The  Psalmist  says,  "  At  morning,  and  at  evening, 
and  at  noon  will  I  praise  thee.^^  Evening  seems  the  most  solemn 
hour  of  the  day,  and  so  far  a  suitable  time  for  individual  retro- 
spection and  communion  with  God.  Then  the  noise  of  the  world 
grows  fliinter ;  the  air  becomes  still ;  the  excitement  of  life  has 
passed  over ;  the  fever  of  human  strife  is  laid.  Our  heart  can 
rise  in  the  stillness  of  evening,  to  intercourse  and  fellowship  with 
God.  The  dews  that  then  fall  to  saturate  the  earth  should  re- 
mind us  that  our  hearts  need  the  softening,  fertilizing  influence 


DANIEL'S   LITANY.  303 

of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  stars  that  come  forth  to  beautify  the 
sky,  and  send  down  their  pale  sheen  upon  us,  ought  to  remind  us 
of  that  bright  and  morning  star,  the  rising  of  that  sun  that  shall 
never  set.  And  if  there  be  an  evening  each  day,  forget  not  that 
there  is  also  an  evening  of  life,  when  specially  we  should  pray ; 
when  all  the  tints  and  the  lights  of  youth  are  gone,  v/hen  the 
noontide  passions  of  manhood  are  quelled,  and  there  comes  the 
solemnity,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  of  gray  hairs,  and  tottering  limbs, 
and  an  enfeebled  body;  when  the  curfew-bell,  that  announces  as 
it  were  the  extinction  of  all  earthly  fires,  is  heard  in  every  heart ; 
then  should  we  pra}^,  as  Daniel  prayed,  that  the  twilight  of  the 
evening  which  is  now  falling  may,  in  our  case,  mingle  in  the  twi- 
light of  that  bright  day  which  is  fast  approaching,  when  the  sun 
shall  rise,  ascend  his  meridian,  and  set  no  more.  It  was  at  this 
season  that  Daniel  prayed.  He  was  an  aged  man  at  this  period, 
of  about  ninety  years  of  age. 

At  other  times  too  should  we  pray.  When  our  communion 
season  comes  round  we  should  pray  as  we  approach  the  table  of 
our  Lord,  that  we  may  go  there  in  a  right  spirit.  I  know  not  a 
more  beautiful  festival  than  the  communion ;  I  wish  only  it  were 
of  more  frequent  recurrence.  But  I  do  not  believe  that  there 
should  be  at  that  time  a  special  preparation,  and,  when  it  is  passed 
by,  a  more  thorough  participation  in  the  cares,  the  anxieties,  and 
the  follies  of  the  world.  Our  hearts  should  always  be  ready  for 
it.  I  believe  in  the  early  church  they  received  the  Lord's  sup- 
per every  time  they  met  for  public  worship.  I  feel  the  infre- 
quency  of  the  celebration  of  the  communion  has  generated  a  feel- 
ing, especially  in  the  North,  that  there  is  something  awful  in  it. 
I  have  noticed  in  some  parts  of  Scotland,  that  on  this  occasion 
men  put  on  their  gloomiest  apparel,  and  feel  as  if  they  were  about 
to  undergo  some  heavy  calamity,  or  as  if  they  were  coming  to 
some  dread  sacrifice,  some  awful  expiation  that  they  are  about  to 
make.  I  do  not  say  that  enlightened  men  thus  feel,  but  I  know 
that  many  regard  it  with  such  feelings.  And  I  know  that  in 
speaking  with  my  own  countrymen  about  coming  to  the  Lord's 
table,  many  of  them  have  received  in  the  North  in  their  early 
years  such  impressions  of  the  terrible  and  the  awful,  in  connection 


32-1  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

with  the  Lord's  supper,  as  they  cannot  cast  off  in  maturer  and 
more  enlightened  age. 

My  dear  friends,  there  is  nothing  awful  in  that  communion : 
Jesus  took  all  the  awful  to  himself,  and  has  left  to  us  all  the 
pleasant.  He  made  the  sacrifice ;  we  taste  the  feast  that  succeeds 
the  sacrifice.  He  took  all  the  agony  -,  we  receive  all  the  blessing. 
And  if  there  he  any  festival  to  which  we  should  come  with  glad 
hearts,  it  is  to  the  communion-table ;  our  jubilee,  our  congrega- 
tional festival ;  that  Easter-day  when  we  specially  commemorate 
the  fact  "  the  Lord  is  risen ;''  that  bright  and  happy  day  when 
we  look  forward  to  the  other  truth,  that  He  that  rose  and  reigns 
will  come  again ;  that  glad  festival  in  which  we  sit  down  at  Ihe 
table  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  thus  actualize  the  words  of  the 
Creed,  "  the  communion  of  saints.''  We  think  too  of  those  that 
were  here  before;  who  are  now  surrounding  a  better  table,  enjoy- 
ing a  brighter  fellowship ;  and  we  give  God  thanks  for  what  he 
has  made  us,  and  for  what  he  made  the-m ;  and  we  look  forward 
to  that  happy  day  when  we  shall  join  their  loftier  communion, 
and  seat  ourselves  at  a  table  that  never  shall  be  drawn.  I  have 
noticed  myself,  during  the  sixteen  years  I  have  ministered  in  this 
pulpit,  that  the  communion-table  every  quarter  presents  a  new 
aspect ;  I  miss  gray  hairs,  and  venerable  ones  I  have  often  be- 
held. I  miss  too  once  young,  and  bounding,  and  hopeful  hearts 
that  were  once  there  also.  I  see  new  faces  taking  the  place  of 
old  ones ;  and  nothing  so  vividly  reminds  me  within  these  walls 
that  this  is  not  our  home,  and  that  we  are  pilgrims  and  strangers, 
looking  for  a  better  city,  than  our  recurring  communion-table. 
When  I  say  our  communion-table,  it  is  not  mine,  it  is  the  Lord's; 
and  if  there  is  any  one  spot  where  I  rejoice  to  see  all  true  Chris- 
tians, whatever  be  the  party  to  which  they  belong,  it  is  there.  It 
is  not  the  monopoly  of  a  sect ;  on  it  is  written,  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me  :  for  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink 
this  cup,  ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come." 

While  I  thus  show  my  catholic  feeling  in  this  respect,  yet  at 
the  same  time  I  must  say  that  I  prefer  our  own  Scottish  form :  it 
is  so  simple,  so  beautiful,  that  the  longer  I  see  it  the  more  am  1 
impressed  with  its  simple  grandeur,  its  severe,  and,  as  some  would 


DANIEL'S   LITANY.  325 

call  it,  its  stern  simplicity.  But  it  matters  little  whether  we 
kneel,  or  sit,  or  stand,  if  it  is  at  a  table  surrounded  by  glad  and 
thankful  hearts,  who  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup  because 
Jesus  has  suffered  that  we  might  suffer  no  more. 

In  the  next  place,  I  wish  to  observe,  in  closing  my  remarks 
upon  this  prayer  of  Daniel,  that  the  answer  was  immediate. 
"  While  I  was  speaking,^'  he  says,  "  Gabriel  came  and  touched 
me."  What  a  striking  incident  is  this  !  There  is  a  text  in  the 
Bible  that  seems  to  me  expressive  of  a  greater  marvel  than  even 
the  electric  telegraph.  You  know  that  a  question  asked  at  one 
end  may  be  answered  almost  instantly  two  hundred  miles  away. 
But  there  is  a  text  that  anticipates  the  marvel :  "  It  shall  come 
to  pass,  saith  the  Lord,  that  before  they  call,  I  will  answer,  and 
while  they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear."  A  quicker  communion 
with  Grod  have  we  than  even  that'suggested  by  the  wondrous  elec- 
tric telegraph ',  for  God  hears  us  while  we  speak,  answers  us  be- 
fore we  ask,  and  in  every  case  "  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  can  ask  or  think." 

My  impression  is,  that  this  Gabriel  who  was  sent  to  Daniel  was 
not  an  angel,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  This  conclusion,  to 
which  Bishop  Heber  came,  is  founded  on  the  derivation  of  the 
word,  and  also  upon  a  passage  that  occurs  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke. 
The  word  Gabriel  means  simply  ^'the  power  of  God.'^  Compare 
Luke  i.  19  :  '^I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  presence  of  God;" 
and  ver.  26 — "  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God  to  a  virgin  espoused 
to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph ;"  and  ver.  35 — "  The  an2:el 
answered  and  said  unto  her,  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon 
thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee;"  which, 
if  literally  translated  into  Hebrew,  will  be,  '^  and  Gabriel  shall 
overshadow  thee."  It  may  mean  therefore  in  this  place  also,  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  who  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shows 
them  to  us.  And  it  seems  the  more  likely,  because  it  was  this 
Gabriel  who  came  and  instructed  Daniel  on  a  subject  on  which 
the  Spirit  teaches ;  for  what  was  the  nature  of  his  instruction  ? 
About  Messiah,  the  Prince.  And  what  is  the  great  office  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  ^^  He  shall  take  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  shall 
show  them  unto  you."    It  may,  however,  have  been  an  angel,  for 

28 


326  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

as  the  apostle  teaches  us^  "angels  are  ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth  to  minister  to  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation/'  And 
if  Gabriel  was  a  mere  angel,  he  was  sent  not  to  claim  for  himself 
our  adoration,  but  to  execute  God's  message,  and  to  minister  to 
Daniel.  The  message  was  made  to  Daniel  as  "Daniel  greatly  be- 
loved/' The  acceptance  of  the  person  takes  place  before  the 
answer  to  the  prayer  is  given.  We  must  first  be  accepted  as 
Christians  before  we  can  pray  as  Christians.  God  accepts  us 
first,  and  then  our  prayers,  to  which  he  sends  down  an  answer. 


327 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


MESSIAH    S     DEATH. 


"And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  sball  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for 
himself;  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and 
the  sanctuary;  and  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the  end  of 
the  war  desolations  are  determined." — Daniel  ix.  26. 


I  DEFER  in  this  lecture  all  clironological  discussion  respecting 
tlie  epocb.  which  the  prophecy  plainly  intimates.  I  assume  the 
fact,  which  cannot  be  denied,  because  it  has  been  irresistibly 
proved,  that  this  relates  to  the  death — I  add,  the  sacrificial  death 
— of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Whether  we  take  the  grounds  of 
chronology,  or  the  descriptive  language  of  the  passage,  it  is  im- 
possible to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  any  other  is  pointed  at 
here  than  the  Redeemer.  I  assume,  therefore,  that  this  is  a 
prophecy  of  Christ,  as  well  as  the  statement  of  his  death,  and, 
by  implication,  the  nature  and  direction  of  that  death.  It  was 
his  shame  that  he  was  "  cut  oif;''  it  was  his  glory  that  it  was 
"  not  for  himself.'^  It  was  the  evidence  that  he  was  man  that 
he  died;  it  was  the  demonstration  that  he  was  more  than  man, 
and  so  his  death,  very  different  from  ours,  that  he  died  not  for 
himself.  The  death  of  Christ  is  the  subject  of  extended  pro- 
phecy. Isaiah  liii.  is  an  exposition  of  Daniel  ix.  26.  That  won- 
derful chapter  of  the  evangelical  prophet  may  be  called  the  true 
crucifix.  It  describes  his  death,  the  nature  of  his  death,  the  re- 
sults of  his  death.  It  is  expressly  applied  by  an  inspired  apostle 
to  the  death  of  Christ;  and  therefore,  about  its  application,  in  a 
Christian's  mind,  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever.  When  Peter 
says,  '^Who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth: 
who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered, 
he  threatened  not;  but  committed  himself  to  him  that  judgeth 


328  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

righteously :  who  his  own  self  hare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree^  that  Yie,  being  dead  to  sins,  should  live  unto  righteous- 
ness :  by  whose  stripes  ye  were  healed.  For  ye  were  as  sheep 
going  astray;  but  are  now  returned  unto  the  shepherd  and 
bishop  of  your  souls/' — all  this  is  just  the  echo  of  the  language 
of  Isaiah,  and  therefore  evidence  that  Peter  clearly  understood 
the  53d  of  Isaiah  to  refer  to  our  blessed  Lord. 

NoWj  the  important  truth  I  am  anxious  to  establish  as  the 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  is — the  sacrificial,  or  the  atoning  nature 
of  the  death  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  and  in  order 
to  do  so,  I  will  bring  forward  less  the  argument  of  man,  and 
more  the  simple,  but  conclusive  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Let  me  notice,  however,  preliminary  to  the  introduction  of  the 
passages  that  clearly  indicate  the  expiatory,  or  atoning,  or  sacri- 
ficial, or  vicarious  nature  of  the  death  of  Christ, — for  all  these 
words  have  one  leading  idea  running  through  them, — that  in  the 
New  Testament,  whether  in  the  Gospels  or  in  the  Epistles,  there 
is  a  constant  reference  made  to  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
far  more  frequently  than  to  his  birth,  his  life,  his  example,  or  to 
his  aboriginal  dignity.  When  he  speaks  of  himself  he  says, 
"  The  Son  of  man  goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him;"  that  is,  he  is 
about  to  die,  as  it  has  been  predicted  of  him  in  the  prophets. 
And  he  alludes  again  and  again  in  the  minutest  particulars  to 
this  event,  as  the  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy.  '^A  bone  of 
him  shall  not  be  broken.''  "  They  pierced  my  hands  and  my 
feet."  '^  They  parted  my  raiment,  and  cast  lots  for  my  ves- 
ture." All  of  these  are  references  to  his  death,  the  peculiar  ac- 
companiments of  that  death,  and  to  that  death  as  the  burden  of 
ancient  prophecy,  the  great  central  point  to  which  and  about 
which  all  ancient  predictions  converge.  The  death  of  Jesus, 
so  singularly  painful,  is  represented,  throughout  Scripture,  as 
that  of  a  perfectly  innocent  being.  His  own  crucifiers  could 
prove  nothing  against  him.  A  voice  from  heaven  said,  with  un- 
earthly majesty,  "  This  is  my  beloved  son,  in  whom  I  have  been, 
am,  and  shall  be,  well  pleased."  Judas  himself  said,  "  I  have 
betrayed  innocent  blood."  Pilate  said,  '^I  find  no  fault  in  him." 
Siitan  was  equally  unsuccessful. 

If  the  objectors  to  the  atonement  say,  ^^It  is  not  reasonable 


MESSIAH'S    DEATH.  329 

that  the  just  should  die  for  the  unjust/^  they  might  say,  -with 
still  greater  force,  it  is  not  reasonable,  on  the  same  grounds,  that 
the  just  should  die  at  all.  Here,  then,  is  the  phenomenon,  the 
strange  phenomenon — that  a  being,  pronounced  by  God  to  be  in- 
nocent, proved  from  the  silence  of  his  enemies,  the  contradic- 
tions of  his  accusers,  and  the  personal  and  protracted  experience 
of  his  friends  and  followers,  to  be  an  innocent  being,  is  found  to 
have  been  the  greatest  sufferer  of  the  greatest  agony  of  any  that 
ever  bore  a  cross,  or  perished  from  the  earth. 

It  was  a  perfectly  voluntary  death;  it  was  not  forced  upon 
him  contrary  to  his  will;  it  did  not  overtake  him  by  surprise. 
He  pointed  it  out  as  the  ultimate  stage  of  his  journey;  he  pre- 
dicted it  as  a  fact  that  must  of  necessity  be.  He  said  of  him- 
self,— ^^I  lay  down  my  life;  no  man  taketh  it  from  me."  He 
chose  to  die,  and  chose  to  die  not  because  he  loved  death,  but 
because  he  loved  us.  It  was  for  the  joy  set  before  him — that 
joy,  the  restoration  of  sinners — that  he  endured  the  cross,  and 
despised  the  shame.  If  Christ's  death  be  not  atoning,  the  fact 
that  he,  the  innocent,  thus  died  voluntarily,  and  by  choice  and 
preference,  is  an  inscrutable  mystery,  an  inexplicable  fact. 

Again  :  while  his  death  was  voluntary  in  this  respect,  it  was, 
in  another  respect,  the  result  of  divine  predetermination  and 
decree.  The  Father  is  said  to  have  '^  sent"  him,  and  to  have 
^'  given"  him.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  it  is  said  that  ''  he 
was  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of 
God."  And  again  :  '^  Against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom  thou 
hast  anointed,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  gathered  together,  for  to  do  what- 
soever thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  before  to  be  done." 
It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  what  God  predetermined  is  not  said 
to  have  been  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  the  mission  of  Jesus,  or  the 
example  of  Jesus, — but  the  death  of  Jesus.  Unless,  therefore, 
there  be  something  emphatic,  peculiar,  distinctive  in  that  death, 
we  cannot  understand  how  it  should  be  that  of  an  innocent  be- 
ing, perfectly  voluntary  on  his  part,  and  yet  predetermined  by 
God  the  Father. 

Jesus  was  put  to  death,  charged  with  the  blasphemy  of  assum- 
ing to  be  God,  while  his  enemies  protested  he  was  not  God.     He 

28* 


330  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

claimed  equality  with  God — of  this  there  is  no  doubt — and  when 
told  that  he  had  done  so,  he  admitted  and  justified  the  claim. 
Now,  if  those  who  deny  the  atoning  nature  of  the  death  of  Christ 
believe  that  he  was  a  divine  teacher  sent  from  God,  ever  speaking 
truth,  and  incapable  of  assuming  what  was  not  his  right,  they 
must  feel  that  when  he  claimed  to  be  God,  he  stated  what  was 
true,  and  assumed  what  was  perfectly  due  to  him;  and  that, 
therefore,  he  was  God.  Here,  also,  the  mystery  of  his  death 
accumulates.  We  have  not  only  the  strange  mystery  of  an 
innocent  being  suiFering  death,  a  voluntarily  chosen  death — a 
death  predetermined  and  decreed  by  God;  but  a  Divine  Being 
in  our  nature  suffering  that  death.  Must  there  not  have  been 
something  peculiar,  significant,  emphatic,  in  the  death  of  Jesus, 
such  as  is  not  in  the  death  of  the  most  sainted  martyr  that  ever 
lived  and  died  ? 

"What  accompanied  the  Saviour's  death  is  also  very  peculiar ;  so 
much  so  as  to  have  been  the  accompaniment  of  no  other  death. 
That  awful  and  mysterious  agony  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane ; 
that  still  more  mysterious  cry  upon  the  cross,  ''My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  V  and  in  the  midst  of  that  terrible 
forsakenness  to  which  he  gave  so  poignant  an  expression,  the 
putting  forth  of  the  sublime  power  of  saying  to  the  thief  upon 
the  cross — ''To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise ;'' — surely, 
surely  this  was  not  the  death  of  an  ordinary  missionary,  nor  of 
even  the  holiest  martyr.  All  this  stamps  the  death  of  Jesus  as 
something  unique,  totally  different  from  the  death  of  any  other 
recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  sufierers  of  mankind. 

Then  mark  the  other  fact.  Jesus  suffered,  as  he  indicated 
himself,  what  no  holy  martyr  ever  suffered.  He  cried,  "  Why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  V  No  Christian  was  ever  forsaken  at  his 
death  by  God.  Is  it  not  God's  own  promise  ? — "  I  will  never 
leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  This  is  promised  to  every  believer. 
Never  yet  was  a  true  Christian  forsaken  of  God  in  the  agony  of 
death.  Yet  Jesus  was.  "  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Does 
not  this  indicate  something  in  this  death  more  than  in  the  death 
of  a  good  man  setting  an  example  of  patience  ?  Is  it  not  a  death 
in  its  nature  clearly  distinguished  from  all  other  deaths,  and  in- 
dicating an  end  which  is  not  exhausted  by  what  the  Socinian, 


MESSIAH'S    DEATH.  331 

or  the  Unitarian,  or  the  mere  moralist^  pronounces  concerning 
Jesus  ? 

The  death  of  Jesus  was  also  accompanied  with  miracles — and 
these  very  remarkable  ones.  We  are  told,  that  from  the  sixth 
hour  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land  until  the  ninth  hour. 
This  never  accompanied  any  other  death.  We  are  told,  again, 
that  "  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom  :  significative,  as  explained  by  the  apostle  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  of  access  to  the  holiest  of  all.  We  are  told  that 
^'  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  rocks  rent,  and  the  graves  were 
opened,  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints  which  slept  arose,  and 
came  out  of  the  graves  after  his  resurrection,  and  went  into  the 
holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many.''  We  read,  also,  that  '^when 
the  centurion,  and  they  that  were  with  him,  watching  Jesus,  saw 
the  earthquake,  and  those  things  that  were  done,  they  feared 
greatly,  saying,  [from  the  overwhelming  demonstration  nature 
was  rendering  to  the  significance  of  his  death,]  Truly  this  was  the 
Son  of  God. 

Lastly,  what  is  equally  peculiar  and  distinctive,  Jesus  instituted 
a  memorial,  celebrated  in  every  sanctuary,  every  day  of  the  year 
somewhere,  called  the  Supper  of  the' Lord,  or  the  Eucharist; 
having  a  retrospective  reference  to  the  fact  that  he  died  upon  the 
cross. 

Now  I  ask.  Why  did  not  Jesus  select  his  baptism  to  be  com- 
memorated ?  Why  not  his  birth,  when  angels  broke  the  silence 
of  the  night,  and  proclaimed  peace  on  earth,  glory  to  God,  and 
goodwill  among  mankind  ?  Why  did  he  take  that  very  fact  in 
his  history  which  is  still  the  most  ofi'ensive  to  the  Jew,  the  most 
incredible  to  the  Gentile,  the  greatest  evidence  of  his  humiliation, 
his  degradation,  and  his  shame  ?  Why  did  he  take  that  one  fact 
in  preference  to  the  more  majestic  facts  of  his  biography,  to  be 
the  subject  of  a  ceaseless  memorial  in  every  congregation  through- 
out the  world,  and  to  the  end  of  time  ?  Do  not,  I  ask,  all  these 
things  indicate,  nay,  demonstrate,  that  there  was  in  the  death  of 
Jesus  that  which  was  not  in  the  death  of  Paul,  Peter,  or  Poly- 
carp,  or  Ignatius,  or  of  sainted  sufferers  or  devoted  martyrs,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  present  hour  ? 

Having  indicated  these  facts,  I  now  proceed  to  transfer  from 


332  rPvOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

the  pages  of  the  New  Testament  the  leading  descriptions  of  the 
death  of  Christ,  in  order  that  you  may  have,  not  my  reasoning, 
or  my  inferential  conclusion,  hut  God's  own  testimony  respecting 
the  significance,  the  nature,  the  issues,  and  the  effects  of  the 
death  of  Jesus.  For  this  purpose  I  have  taken  from  the  "  Bibli- 
cal Eepository'^  for  April,  1850,  a  collection  of  texts  which  strike 
me  as  extremely  conclusive,  in  their  combined  bearing,  on  the 
nature  of  the  death  of  Christ.     I  present,  first  of  all — 

HISTORICAL   APPELLATIVES    OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

1.  Qdvarog — Death. 

Rom.  V.  10 We  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son. 

1  Cor.  xi.  26 Ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come. 

Philip,  ii.  8 And  became  obedient   unto    death,  even   the  death  of  the 

cross. 

Col.  i.  21,  22 Yet  now  hath  he  reconciled  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  through 

death. 

Heb.  ii.  9 Made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffex-ing  of  death. 

ii.  9 Should  taste  death  for  every  man. 

ii.  14  That  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power 

of  death. 

ix.  15 He  is  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Testament,  that  by  means  of 

death  for  the  redemption  of  the  transgressions. 

2.  ' AmOvfiaKO} — Die. 

Rom.  V.  6 In  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 

V.  8 While  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us. 

vi.  10 For  in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once. 

xiv.  15 Destroy  not  him  .  .  .  for  whom  Christ  died. 

1  Cor.  viii.  11 The  weak  brother  perish,  for  whom  Christ  died. 

XV.  3 How  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins. 

2  Cor.  V.  14 That  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead. 

V.  15 But  unto  him  which  died  for  them. 

1  Thcss.  V.  9,  10... To  obtain  salvation  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died 
for  us. 

3.  Y,Tavpds — Cross. 

1  Cor.  i.  17 Lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be  made  of  none  effect. 

i.  18 Por  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that  perish. 

Gal.  V.  11 Then  is  the  offence  of  the  cross  ceased. 

vi.  12 Persecution  for  the  cross  of  Christ. 

vi.  14 Glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Eph.  ii.  16 Reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the  cross. 

Philip,  ii.  8 Became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 


MESSIAH'S  DEATH.  33^ 

fi„l  :    20       Made  peace  througla  the  blood  of  his  cross. 

Hel).  xii.  2.'.* For  the  joy  that  .ras  set  before  Mm  endured  the  cross. 

4.  Srai'poco — CrucifjJ. 

I  Cor.  i.  13 Was  Paul  crucified  for  you? 

'  i.  23 But  we  preach  Christ  crucified. 

{l  2.*." Save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified. 

Gal.  iii.'l..*.'.*.'.'.''... -Evidently  set  forth,  crucifiied  among  you. 

5.  S'/jctrro) — Slay. 

Kev  V   6    Stood  a  lamb,  as  it  ^acZ  &cen  sZcun.  .     ^    i  i,    .i,^ 

^'"^•^[g;:::::; ror  thou  wast  «Z«i»,and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 

blood. 

V  12  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 

xiii.  8.'.*'*.*.'.'*.The  Lamb  slain  before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

6.  Ua(TX(^— -Suffer. 

Mark  Yiii.  31 The  Son  of  Man  must  siffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected. 

Matt.  xvi.  21 ;  Luke  ix.  22.  ,    ^       t      ^ 

Luke  xxii    15 1  have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer. 

xxiv.  26 Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  thmgs  ? 

xxiv.  46 It  behooved  Christ  to  suffer. 

Acts  iU.  18 God  before  had  showed  .  .  .  that  Christ  should  suffer. 

xvii.  3 Christ  must  needs  have  suffered. 

Ileb.  ix.  *2o!! For  then  must  he  often  have  suffered. 

1  Pet.  ii.  21 Christ  also  suffered  for  us. 

'  iii    18    Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins. 

iv."  1.. '.'......Forasmuch,  then,  as  Christ  hath  suffered  for  us. 

7.  UaOriixa— Suffering. 

H,^,  ii.  9 A  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death. 

ii    10  Perfect  through  suff'erings. 

1  Pet.'i.  ll'. Testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 

'  y.  1. '.'.','. A  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 

8.  Ai/^a — Blood. 

Matt.  .xvl.  28 This  is  my  «.»<i  of  the  J'- /esUmcnt  .h^=h  is  shed  for 

many  for  the  remission  of  sms.     Maik  xiv.  /4,    uu&q 
xxii.  20. 

Acts  XX.  28 Which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  hlood. 

Rom.  iii.  25 Through  faith  in  his  hlood. 

V  9  ....Being  now  justifiedjay  his  Hood. 

1  Cor  ii  2'5'." This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in  mj  hlood . 

J,  V   *j    7  In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  hlood. 

'  i'i   13 ..Are  made  nigh  by  the  hlood  of  Christ. 

C^l  i  20     .Having  made  peace  through  the  hlood  of  his  cross. 

Ileb.  ix  14'.'.'.'.'.'.'....How  much  more  .hall  the  hlood  of  Christ  .  .  .  pxirge  your 
conscience. 


334  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

Heb.  X.  19 Boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  of  all  by  the  Hood  of  Jesus. 

X.  29 Hath  counted  the  hlood  of  the  covenant  an  unholy  thing. 

xiii.  12 Sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  hlood. 

xiii.  20 Through  the  hlood  of  the  everlasting  covenant. 

1  Pet.  i.  2 Sprinkling  of  the  i^oof^  of  Jesus  Christ. 

i.  9 (redeemed)  with  the  precious  hlood  of  Christ. 

1  John  i.  7 The  i^oori  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 

Rev.  i.  5 "Washedusfromour  sins  in  his  own  6Zooc^. 

V.  9 Hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  Z>?oofZ. 

vii.  14 Made  them  white  in  the  ^/^oo^^  of  the  Lamb. 

9.  'ivxh — Life. 

Matt.  XX.  28 To  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many. 

John  X.  15.. Hay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep. 

1  John  iii.  16 Because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us. 

10.  Karapa — Curse. 
Gal.  iii.  13 Being  made  course  for  us. 


Now  take  all  the  passages,  bearing  on  and  descriptive  of  tlie 
deatli  of  Christ,  and  what  must  be  the  inference  ?  Is  this  the 
death  of  an  ordinary  martyr  ?  Why  is  the  death  of  Jesus  thus 
selected,  thus  dwelt  upon — the  whole  stress  of  the  gospel,  as  it 
were,  being  laid  upon  it  ?  AVhy  does  the  apostle  pronounce 
'^'  Christ  crucified,''  and  not  '^  Christ  baptized,"  as  the  epitome  of 
the  gospel?  Why  does  he  say,  "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  Christ,''  and  not  rather,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  crown,  or  in  the  manger,  or  in  the  ex- 
ample, or  in  the  life  of  Christ  ?"  Why  is  it  in  the  whole  apoca- 
lyptic song  not,  the  Lamb  that  was  baptized,  that  was  born,  that 
lived  so  holy,  that  died  so  meekly,  but  "  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  ?"  Why  is  so  much  said  about  the  blood  of  Christ — that 
which  cannot  be  said  about  any  other  shed  blood  upon  earth  ? 
The  answer  must  be,  that  there  is  something  in  the  death  of 
Christ  so  peculiar,  so  singular,  so  unlike,  in  its  meaning  and  its 
application,  to  the  deatli  of  any  other,  that  we  must  conclude 
that  we  do  not  exhaust  its  meaning  v/hcn  we  say  it  was  an  atone- 
ment made  by  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  sin  may  be  forgiven 
and  sinners  may  be  saved. 

The  next  class  of  phrases  may  be  called — 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  335 


co:mmercial   appellatives. 


1.  Avrpod) — Rede 


em. 


Tim.  ii.  1-4 That  lie  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity. 

1  Pet.  i.  IS,  19 Ye  wore  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  .  .  .  but  with 

the  precious  blood  of  Christ. 


2.  Av-pov — lia 


nsom. 


Mai.  XX.  28 The  Son  of  Man  came  ...  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many, 

Mark  x.  45. 

3.  KvTiKvTpov — Ransom. 

1  Tim.  ii.  G Who  gave  himself  a  ranso)?*  for  all. 

4.  Avrpwaii — Redemjition. 

Heb.  ix.  12 By  his  own  blood  he  entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place,  hav- 
ing obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us. 

5.  'A-oAC-pojo-is — RcdcmjJtion. 

Rom.  iii.  24 Justified  freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in 

Christ  Jesus. 

1  Cor.  i.  30 "Who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  .  .  .  redemjytion. 

Eph.  i.  17 In  whom  we  have  redemiJtion  through  his  blood. 

Heb.  ix.  15 That  by  means  of  death  for  the  rcdenqjtion  of  the  transgres- 
sions. 

6.  Ayopa^cj — rtjio"; — Bui/ — Price. 

1  Cor.  vi.  20 For  je  are  bon(/7it -with,  a  j^rice. 

2  Pet.  ii.  1 Denying  the  Lord  that  bought  them. 

Rev.  V.  9 lias  rec?ee«ierfus  to  Godby  thy  blood. 

xiv.  3 Which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth. 

xiv.  4 These  loere  redeemed  from  among  men. 

7.  'EfayopdiCj — Redeemed  from. 

Gal.  iii.  13 Christ  JiatJi  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law. 

iv.  5 To  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law. 

8.  UepnTOicojjiai — Purchase,  or  acquire. 
Acts  XX.  28 Which  he  hathjiurchased  with  his  own  blood. 

9.  Tlspiiroiriais — Purchased  piossession. 

Eph.  i.  14 Until  the  redemption  of  the  2)urcha8ed2}osscssiuu 

1  Pet.  ii.  9 A  j:)ccHZi«r  people,  (literally,  of  acquirement  to  himself.) 

Here  is  another  class  of  expressions  whicli  again  show  that 
the  death  of  Christ  must  have  something  very  peculiar  and 
significant  in  it.     They  tell  us  what  we  are  purchased  from — 


336  PROniETIC    STUDIES. 

from  '■'■  all  iniquity/'  from  ''  the  curse  of  the  law,"  from  "  con- 
demnation/' We  are  told,  too,  what  we  are  purchased  with — 
with  his  life,  his  blood,  himself;  not  by  his  example,  not  by  his 
teaching,  not  by  his  miracles,  not  by  his  walk :  we  are  purchased, 
redeemed,  washed,  justified,  accepted,  through  his  death.  Again 
I  say,  there  must  be  something  very  peculiar  about  the  death  of 
Christ  to  warrant  the  application  of  such  phraseology  to  it. 
The  third  class  of  expressions  may  be  called — 

SACRIFICIAL    APPELLATIVES. 

1.  ' KpX'-^P^M — IIujTi-Pricst. 

Heb.  ii.  17 That  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  High  Priest. 

iii.  1 High-Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus. 

iv.  14 We  have  a  great  iiT/^/i-Pr/esnhat  is  passed  unto  the  heavens. 

Jesus  the  son  of  God. 
vi.  1 Fov  Gverj  High-Priest  taken  from  among  men,  is  ordained  for 

men  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  that  ho  may  offer  both  gifts 

and  sacrifices  for  sins. 

V.  10 Called  of  God  an  High-Priest  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec. 

vii.  26 For  such  an  High-Priest  hecamc  us. 

viii.  1 "We  have  such  an  High-Priest,  who  is  set  on  the  right  hand  of 

the  throne  of  the  majesty  in  the  heavens. 

2.  'hpevg — Priest. 

Hcb.  V.  G Thou  art  apn'es^for  ever. 

ii.  11 Another  j^j)'ies«  should  rise  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec. 

X.  21 An  high-priest  over  the  house  of  God. 

3.  'lepcMvuri — Priesthood. 

Heb.  vii.  4 Ilath  an  unchangeable  ^jri'esf/iooc?. 

4.  ^IXaffKOiJiaL — Reconcile  hy  expiation. 

Ileb.  ii.  17 A  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God, 

to  mahe  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 

5 .  'lAoCTj^ivj — Prop  it  i  at  ion. 

1  John  ii.  2 He  is  the  2)ro23itiation  for  our  sins. 

iv.  10 Sent  his  son  to  he  the  jjropitiation  for  our  sins. 

6.  'IXaarfipiov — Prop)itiation. 

Ptom.  iii.  25 Whom  God  has  sent  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in 

his  blood. 

7.  'Aixvdg — Lamb. 

John  i.  29 P>eholdtheXom&  of  God  which  takcth  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

1  Pet,  i.  19 Blood  of  Christ,  as  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot. 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  337 

8.  'ApvLOv — Lamb, 

Kev.  V.  12 "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 

vii.  14 White  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

xiii.  18 The  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

9.  6uco — TOffXa — To  Sacrifice — Passover. 

1  Cor.  V.  1 For  even  Christ  ovcc passover  is  sacrificed  for  us. 

10.  Qvaia — A  Sacrifice. 

Eph.  V.  2 Hath  given  himself  for  us  as  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to 

God. 

Heb.  ix.  26 Hath  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 

X.  12 After  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins. 

11.  npoa(bopa — An  Offering. 

Eph.  V.  2 Hath  given  himself  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God. 

Heb.  X.  10 Through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  once. 

X.  1-1 For  by  one  offering  he  hath  perfected. 

12.  Upoarpipu — Offer. 

Heb.  ix.  14 "Who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without  s]oot 

to  God. 

ix.  35 Nor  yet  that  he  should  offer  himself  often. 

ix.  28 So  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many.  * 

X.  12 After  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins. 

13.  'Ava'pipo — Bear. 

Heb.  ix.  28 So  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many. 

vii.  27 For  this  he  did  once  when  he  offered  up  himself. 

14.  'EvTVYXnff^ — To  mahe  intercession. 

Heb.  vii.  25 Seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  7nahe  intercession  for  them.     Isa. 

liii.  12. 

ix.  24 But  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God 

for  us. 

15.  T[apaK\r]TOi — An  Advocate. 

1  John  ii.  1 We  have  an   advocate  with   the   Father,  Jesus   Christ  the 

righteous. 

Now  what  do  all  tliese  passages  show  ?  That  the  idea  of  atone- 
ment or  sacrifice  is  inseparable  from  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  These  are  phrases  borrowed  from  the  ancient  Jewish 
economy.  Was  that  economy  distinguished  by  sacrifices  ?  Was 
the  idea  of  an  atonement  at  all  impressed  and  inculcated  upon 
that  people  ?     Let  us  look  at  their  sacrifices.     In  every  sacrifice 

29 


338  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

of  an  expiatory  kind  offered  by  the  Jew,  there  was  first  a  trans- 
gressor,  somebody  who  was  morally  or  ceremonially  unclean. 
There  was,  secondly,  a  victim — a  goat,  a  lamb,  or  a  bullock,  the 
blood  of  which  was  shed  and  sprinkled  on  the  altar.  There  was 
next  a  priest  who  slew  the  victim,  shed  its  blood,  and  sprinkled 
it  on  the  altar.  And  there  was,  lastly,  the  imposition  of  hands 
upon  the  head  of  the  victim.  The  idea  inculcated  was  that  the 
guilt  of  him  who  laid  on  his  hands  was  transferred,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  the  victim  that  was  slain,  or  the  goat  that  was  dis- 
missed and  sent  away  into  the  wilderness.  No  one,  therefore, 
can  deny  that  the  whole  Jewish  ceremony  was  pervaded  by  the 
idea  of  expiation — that  the  great  lesson  inculcated  in  every  act 
was,  without  shedding  of  blood  there  was  no  remission  of  sins. 
Now  every  one  of  these  expressions  is  applied  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  He  is  our  propitiation,  our  priest,  our  sacrifice,  our  altar, 
our  atonement.  He  substituted  himself,  the  just  in  the  room  of 
the  unjust;  and  pardon,  forgiveness,  and  acceptance  are  associated 
with  his  so  substituting  himself,  and  so  being  a  sacrifice  for  our 
sin.  The  idea,  then,  accumulates  in  evidence  that  Jesus  died, 
not  an  example  how  the  good  should  meekly  suffer,  but  an  atone- 
ment by  which  the  sins  of  the  guilty  might  be  forgiven. 
The  next  class  of  expressions  are — 

TERMS    OF    OBJECTIVE,  OCCASIONAL,  AND    PERSONAL   RELATION. 

1.  'AfjiapTia — Sin. 

Matt.    xxvi.    28... Which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sin. 

John  i.  29 The  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

Acts   xiii.   38 Through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgiveness  of 

sins. 

Ptom.  vi.  10 In  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  stii  once. 

viii.  3 In  the  liliencss  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in 

the  flesh. 

1  Cor.  XV.  3 That  Christ  died  for  our  sins. 

2  Cor.  V.  21 Hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin. 

Col.  i.  14 Redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 

Ileb.  i.  3 Had  by  himself  purged  our  sins. 

ii.  17 To  make  recbnciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 

ix.  26 To  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 

ix.  28 Once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many. 

X.  12 After  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins. 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  839 

1  Pet.  ii.  24... Bare  our  sina  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree. 

iii.  18 Ilath  once  suffered  for  sins. 

1  John  i.  7 The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 

ii.  2 He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. 

iii.  5 Manifested  to  take  away  our  sins. 

iv.  X Sent  his  Son  to  be  tlie  propitiation  for  oxiv  sins. 

2.    'AuapT-r]jxa — Sin. 

Kom.  iii.  25 Set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to 

declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are 
passed. 

3.  HapdiTTwixa — Offence,  Tres2jnss,  Sin. 

Rom.  iv.  25 Who  was  delivered  for  our  offences. 

Eph.  i.  7 Redemption  through  his  blood,  forgiveness  of  sins. 

4.  UapdPaats — Transgression. 

Heb.  ix.  15 That  by  means  of  death  for  the  redemption  of  the  transgres- 
sions that  were  under  the  first  testament. 

5.  'Avojxia — Iniquifi/. 

Tit.  ii.  14 That  he  redeem  us  from  all  iniquifi/. 

6.  'AjwaprcoXdj — Sinner. 

Rom.  V.  8 While  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us. 

1  Tim.  i.  15 Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners. 

7.  "AaePns — Ungodly. 
Rom.  V.  6 In  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 

8.  "a6iko£ — Unjust. 

1  Pet.  iii.  18 For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  tho 

unjust. 

9.  'Ex^poj — Enemy. 

Rom.  V.  10 When  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 

death  of  his  Son. 

10.  ToOj  vnd  voixof — Those  under  the  laio. 

Gal.  iv.  5 To  redeem  them  that  icere  under  the  law. 

11.  UpoParoi/ — Sheep. 

John  X.  15 1  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep. 

12.  ''EKK'Xrjaia — Church. 

Acts  XX.  28 The  church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own 

blood. 
Eph.  V.  25 Christ  also  loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it. 


840  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

13.  Aadj — People. 

Heb.  ii.  17 To  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the^eopZe. 

xiii.  12 Wherefore  Jesus  also  that  he  might  sanctify  ih.Q  people  •with. 

his  own  blood,  suflFered  without  the  gate. 

14  no\\oX~3Iany. 

Matt.   xxvi.  28.... "Which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins. 

XX.   28 To  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many. 

Ilcb.  ix.  28 So  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many. 

15.  Ilaj — irdvTti — Every  one — all. 

2  Cor.  V.  14 If  one  died  for  all. 

V.  15 And  that  he  died  for  all. 

1  Tim.  ii.  6 Gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all. 

Heb.  ii.  9 That  he,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste  death  for  every 

man. 

16.  Kd(7/i0f — World. 

John  i.  29 The  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

vi.  51 And  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  givo 

for  the  life  of  the  world. 

1  John  ii.  2 And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only, 

but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  loorld. 

Is  not  the  tliouglit  still  more  clearly  impressed  that  the  atone- 
ment of  Jesus  was  of  an  expiatory  nature,  when  all  the  phraseology 
and  usages  of  the  ancient  Levitical  economy  are  applied  to  that 
death ;  and  when  Christ  is  said  to  have  died  rjTzkp  for  avri  instead 
of,  and  T£p\  in  behalf  of,  or  concerning  us  ?  Does  it  not  prove 
that  sin  is  in  some  way  removed  by  his  death,  and  that  sinners 
are  in  some  way  benefited,  as  the  blessed  and  glorious  issue  ? 

TERMS   or  REMOTE   RELATION,  OR   FINAL   DECISION. 

1.  Sw^w — Save. 

Matt,  xviii.  11 For  the  Son  of  man  came  to  save  that  which  was  lost. 

John  iii.  17 That  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved. 

xii.  47 1  came  not  to  judge  the  Avorld,  but  to  save  the  world. 

1  Tim.  i.  15 Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners. 

2.   'Zio^l^p — Saviour. 

1  John  iv.  14 The  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

3.  "A(l)saii — Bemission,  Forgiveness. 

Matt.  xxvi.  28 Which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remissioti  of  sins. 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  341 

Acts  V.  31 Him  hath  God  exalted  ...  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and 

forgiveness  of  sins. 

xiii.  38 Through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgiveness  of 

sins.  ■ 
Eph.  i.  7 ....In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  for- 
giveness of  sins.     Col.  i.  1-i. 

4.  Ilapstns — Pretermission. 

Rom.  iii.  25 For  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past. 

5.   AiKa'ioi — Justify. 

Acts  xiii.  39 By  him  all  that  believe  ar-e  justified. 

Rom.  iii.  24 Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  redemption 

that  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

V.  9 Being  now  justified  by  his  blood. 

Gal.  ii.  17 But  if,  while  we  seek  to  be  justified  by  Christ. 

6.  AiKaioavvrj — Righteousness. 

Rom.  iii.  25 Set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  ...  to  declare  his  righteous- 
ness, that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which 
believeth  in  Jesus. 

Rom.  X.  4 Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 

that  believeth. 

2  Cor.  V.  21 For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin, 

that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him. 

7.   KaraWayh — Reconciliation. 

Rom.  V.  11 By  whom  we  have  received  the  atonement. 

8.  KaT-aXXdffo-o) — Reconcile. 

Rom.  V.  10 "VYe  loere  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son. 

2  Cor.  V.  18 Who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Christ  Jesus. 

V.  19 In  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing 

their  trespasses  unto  them. 

9.   'Aro/caraXXarrcj — Reconcile. 

Eph.  ii.  16 That  he  might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the 

cross. 
Col.  i.  21 Yet  now  hath  he  reconciled  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  through 

death. 

We  have  thus  the  end  which  Christ  came  to  accomplish.  He 
came  to  put  away  sin,  and  to  save  sinners.  The  nature  of  that 
result  is  described  as  salvation,  forgiveness,  remission  of  sins, 
justification,  righteousness,  reconciliation.  Does  not  this  still 
more  strongly  inculcate  the  idea  I  am  now  teaching,  that  Christ's 
death  was  expiatory,  vicarious,  or  atoning  ? 

29* 


342  PROniETIC   STUDIES. 

TERMS   EXPRESSIVE   OF   DIVINE   ACTION. 

1.  A(Jw/i£ — Give. 

John  iii.  16 For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 

Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life. 

2.  n.apabi6u)jxi — Give  v]p,  deliver. 

Rom.  iv.  25 Who  was  delivered  for  our  offences. 

viii.  32 He  that  spared  {tcpeiaaro)  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him 

up  for  us  all. 

3.   "EjcJoroj — Delivered  iqi. 

Acts  ii.  23 Ilim,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands 
have  crucified  and  slain. 

4.  T\poopii^(ji — Determine  hefore. 

Acts  iv.  28 For  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined 

hefore  to  be  done. 

5.   'ATrocrTEXXo) — Send. 

John  iii.  17 For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world   to  rojidemn  the 

world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved. 

1  John  iv.  9 Sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,  that  we  might  live 

through  him. 

iv.  10 Sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. 

iv.  14 The  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

6.  UpoTidnni — Set  forth,  a2:)point. 

Rom.  iii.  25 Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation. 

7.  TLoiuo  afxapriap — 3Iade  sin. 

2  Cor.  V.  21 For  ho  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  know  no  sin,  that 

we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him. 

I  have  given  you  tliese  specimens  of  all  the  expressions 
associated  with  the  death  of  Christ  contained  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  I  first  ask  you  to  notice  the  enormous  stress 
that  is  laid  upon  his  death;  how  justification,  acceptance,  for- 
giveness, are  all  associated,  not  with  his  baptism,  not  with  his 
example,  but  with  his  death ;  how  the  great  end  for  which  God 
sent  him  into  the  world  was  not,  as  here  declared,  to  set  a  beauti- 
ful example,  but  to  die.  I  ask  you  to  notice  how  that  death  is 
connected  with  all  the  institutions  of  Levi,  which  were  intended 
confessedly  and  professedly  to  inculcate  the  idea  of  the  atonement ; 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  343 

and  how,  in  the  next  place,  it  is  associated  with  our  sins  and 
their  removal,  and  with  sinners  and  their  acceptance  before  God. 

Now,  with  regard  to  these  passages,  the  very  eloquent  but 
deeply  deceived  Dr.  Channing,  whose  dying  creed  it  is  said  was 
very  different  from  his  living  creed,  renouncing  the  Socinianism 
which  could  not  save,  and  accepting  the  Christianity  which  alone 
proclaims  the  atonement  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  states,  in 
vol.  iii.  of  his  works,  after  referring  to  some  of  these  extracts 
from  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  and  speaking  of  the  body 
of  which  he  was  so  eloquent  and  gifted  an  exponent :  "  Many  of 
us  are  dissatisfied  with  this  explanation  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
('that  it  procures  forgiveness  by  leading  to  that  repentance  and 
virtue  which  is  the  great  and  only  condition  on  which  forgiveness 
is  bestowed/)  and  think  that  the  Scriptures  ascribe  the  remission 
of  sins  to  Christ's  death  luith  an  emphasis  so  peculiar,  that  we 
ought  to  consider  this  event  as  having  a  special  influence  in  re- 
moving punishment."  Here  is  a  ray  of  light  entering  into  that 
great  man's  mind,  and  showing  how  dissatisfied  he  was  with  the 
popular  theology  of*  his  body;  and  thus  inducing  us  to  believe 
what  was  reported  of  him  was  true — that  he  died  renouncing  his 
unitarianism,  and  accepting  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  as  that 
which  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 

Suppose  you  wished  to  convey  the  idea  which  Channing  dimly 
saw,  but  which  we  rejoice  to  have  the  privilege  and  joy  of  fully 
accepting — the  expiatory  and  atoning  nature  of  the  death  of 
Jesus — I  defy  you,  or  even  the  eloquent  author  whom  I  have 
quoted,  to  select  verbs,  nouns,  adjectives,  epithets,  and  appella- 
tives, that  more  emphatically,  directly,  and  fully  declare  that  the 
death  of  Jesus  was  expiatory  and  atoning.  If  you  will  read  those 
extracts  which  I  have  given,  and  will  try  to  find  language  more 
definite,  more  decided,  more  clearly  explanatory  of  your  meaning, 
that  Christ  died  as  an  atonement,  you  will  find  it  impossible  to 
do  so.  The  apostles  have  exhausted  language  in  order  to  convey 
this  idea.  If  they  did  not  understand  that  Christ  died  as  an 
atonement,  they  have  purposely,  deliberately,  and  designedly 
deceived  mankind.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  men  who 
understand  the  use  and  the  meaning  of  language — that  weapon 
of  great  power — could  ever  have  used  such  phraseology  so  often, 


344  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

in  such  changes  of  ch'cumstances,  in  such  variety  of  construction, 
on  so  many  occasions,  out  of  so  many  incidents,  except  they  had 
intended  to  convey  this  great  idea,  that  the  death  of  Jesus  was 
an  atonement  made  on  behalf  of  sinners,  and  for  the  remission 
of  the  sins  of  them  that  believe.  Therefore  we  infer  that  the 
system  of  unitarianism,  which  alleges  it  is  not  a  sacrifice,  is 
simply  the  creed  and  misconception  of  man ;  that  the  system  of 
superstition,  which  says  it  was  not  a  complete  sacrifice,  but  needs 
to  be  added  to,  is  simply  the  system  of  the  priest ;  and  that  that 
creed  is  the  true  one,  because  the  divine  one,  which  declares  that 
he  died,  the  just  in  our  room,  the  holy  one  in  the  room  of  the 
unholy ;  that  the  spotless  Lamb  wore  our  tainted  fleece,  that  we, 
the  fallen  and  stray  sheep,  might  be  clothed  with  his  glorious 
righteousness;  that  he  paid  all  we  owed  to  God,  and  secured 
from  God  far  more  than  God  owed  to  us ;  that  his  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,  and  that  in  him,  and  by  him,  and  through  him — to 
the  exclusion  of  all  repentance,  all  good  deeds,  all  sufferings,  all 
prayers  of  saints  and  intercessions  of  angels,  every  thing  in 
heaven  or  earth,  however  excellent  or  however  bad — that  in  him 
and  through  him  alone,  we  have  forgiveness  of  sin  and  justifica- 
tion in  the  sight  of  God.  Blessed  truths  are  these  !  Blessed  be 
the  God  that  has  revealed  them.  We  have  not  to  climb  to 
heaven  by  the  penitential  stairs  our  imaginations  may  construct, 
nor  to  purchase  our  entrance  into  heaven  by  a  draft  on  the  funded 
merit  or  virtues  of  any  church  or  corporation  whatever.  We 
have  not  to  do  something  in  order  to  deserve  heaven  :  God  gives 
us  heaven  as  a  birthright,  and  bids  us,  conscious  of  the  gratitude 
we  owe  him,  go  forth  and  show  that  we  are  his,  and  manifest  our 
devotion  to  his  will,  by  living  to  his  glory  and  his  honour,  in 
doing  his  commandments.  It  is  not  for  us  to  speculate  whether 
God  could  have  saved  us  by  any  other  process.  No  speculation, 
I  conceive,  can  be  more  foolish.  It  is  matter  of  fact,  that  there 
is  none  other  name  but  One  by  which  we  can  be  saved — that 
there  is  but  one  process  of  restoration  revealed  unto  us;  and 
instead  of  speculating  whether  we  could  have  been  saved  by  any 
other  process,  it  is  the  safer,  it  is  the  truer  way,  it  is  the  only 
one,  earnestly  to  study  what  God  has  said,  and  to  seek  to  be 
saved  in  the  way  of  his  own  appointment. 


MESSIAH'S   DEATH.  345 

This  atonement  was  not  made  to  make  God  love  tliose  whom  he 
otherwise  hated.  This  is  not  the  accepted  view  of  any  enlight- 
ened auditory,  nor  is  it  sanctioned  in  Scripture.  The  atonement 
was  offered  not  to  create  in  God  a  love  that  was  not,  but  to  be  the 
exponent  and  evidence  to  us  of  a  love  that  was  and  is :  and  it  is 
not  true  that  God  so  hated  us  that  Christ,  to  intercept  his  wrath, 
interposed  to  save  us;  but  he  so  loved  us,  that  he  gave,  as  an  ex- 
pression of  that  lovC;  Christ  to  die  for  us.  It  is  not  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  Bible  that  God  loves  us  because  Christ  died  for  us : 
the  converse  is  its  declaration — that  God  so  loved  us  that  Christ 
died  for  us.  The  death  of  Christ  was  provided  by  the  mercy  of 
him  against  whose  justice  we  had  sinned,  that  that  mercy  might 
reach  us  with  all  its  pardoning  fulness,  in  perfect  harmony  with 
that  justice  which  he  had  insulted ;  so  that  God  should  appear 
the  most  just  when  he  exercises  the  richest  mercy,  and  should  be 
arrayed  in  the  brightest  glory  when  he  forgives  the  chiefest  of 
sinners  through  the  blood  of  Jesus.  If  this  be  so,  how  little 
reason  have  we  to  be  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ !  Well  and 
truly  did  an  apostle  say,  "  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.^'  In  the  death  of  Jesus  was  a  real  and  intrinsic  gTan- 
deur.  He  died — the  evidence  that  he  was  man ;  but  he  atoned 
in  that  death — the  demonstration  that  he  was  more  than  man. 
He  that  died  for  us  was  the  Lord  of  Glory.  That  dead  Christ 
was  the  Prince  of  Life.  That  babe  in  the  manger  was  the 
Mighty  God.  He  that  said,  "  The  foxes  of  the  earth  have  holes, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath 
not  where  to  lay  his  head,^^  was  he  that  stretched  out  the  jfirma- 
ment  and  scattered  over  it  its  ever-burning  stars.  And  that 
cross,  which  to  the  world  was  the  symbol  of  shame,  is  to  us  glo- 
rious as  the  shekinah  between  the  cherubim.  Christ  crucified  is 
emphatically  the  hope,  the  trust,  the  confidence  of  all  believers. 

Thus  we  see  the  nature  of  the  death  which  Christ  died  for  us. 
Its  vicarious  nature  is  indisputable.  It  was  not  the  patient  ex- 
ample of  a  saint's  dying,  but  the  atoning  suffering  of  a  divine 
victim.  Have  you  accepted  it  as  such  ?  Have  you  closed  with 
God's  offer  of  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  If  you  have  not,  why 
not  ?  I  know  not  a  guilt  more  heinous  than  that  of  the  man  who 
hears  of  the  occurrence  of  such  a  fact,  and  retires  unconscious  of 


346  rilOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

its  importance^  unimpressed  by  a  sense  of  responsibility,  unat- 
tracted  to  God  tlie  Father  manifesting  his  love  in  the  death  of 
Christ  the  Redeemer.  If  yon  are  not  justified  and  accepted 
through  him,  let  me  ask  you,  as  I  have  often  done,  why  ?  Is  God 
unwilling  to  receive  you  ?  At  this  moment  he  waits  for  you;  and 
if  you  should  wait  a  thousand  years,  you  will  not  be  more  willing 
to  go  to  God,  and  he  will  not  be  more  willing  to  accept  you  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  the  way  will  not  be  more  easy.  God  waits  to 
be  gracious;  he  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but 
rather  that  he  should  turn  from  his  wickedness,  repent,  and  live. 
Do  you  answer,  ^^  the  provision  is  insufficient  ?"  Is  such  an  ob- 
jection consistent  with  the  passages  I  have  quoted  ?  I  announce 
the  good  news,  when  I  proclaim,  as  God's  ambassador,  there  is 
not  one  sin,  be  it  the  most  heinous,  the  most  offensive  before  man, 
and  the  most  terrible  and  criminal  in  the  sight  of  God,  for  which 
there  is  not  forgiveness  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  efficacy  of 
that  blood  is  not  diluted  by  years,  or  exhausted  of  its  virtue  by 
the  number  to  which  it  is  applied.  There  is  as  much  forgiveness, 
and  as  free,  and  as  full,  and  as  complete  and  irreversible,  in  the 
year  1850,  as  there  was  for  them  who  had  dyed  their  hands  in 
the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  and  shouted,  with  atheistic  blasphemy, 
^'  Crucify  him,  crucify  him ;"  but  who  were,  in  spite  of  their 
sins,  and  through  the  sufficiency  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  afterward 
received  by  faith,  the  very  first-fruits  of  his  death,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  If,  therefore,  you  are  not  pardoned,  it  is  plainly  not 
because  God  is  unwilling,  or  the  provision  insufficient.  Are  there 
not  motives  strong  enough  to  influence  you  ?  Is  not  the  hope  of 
a  glorious  kingdom,  that  never  can  be  moved,  a  hope  stimulating 
enough  ?  Is  not  the  possibility  of  escape  from  condemnation  and 
everlasting  ruin  a  reason  urgent  and  eloquent  enough  ?  Look 
down  into  the  depths  of  the  ruin  which  you  have  not  reached, 
but  to  which  our  sins  must  drive  us,  if  unforgiven ;  and  then  look 
to  the  heights  of  that  glory  which  we  have  forfeited,  and  so  often 
turned  our  backs  on,  and  which  the  sufferings,  the  agony,  and  the 
blood  of  Jesus  alone  have  retrieved  for  us ;  and  say,  if  there  are 
not  motives  enough,  in  the  position  in  which  you  now  stand,  in 
the  danger  you  may  avert,  in  the  glory  you  may  reach,  why  you 


MESSIAH'S    DEATH.  347 

should  flee  to  the  refuge  set  before  yoU;  and  seek  now^  once  for 
all,  acceptance  and  forgiveness  before  God. 

But  do  you  think,  as  some  most  erroneously  do,  that  all  "will 
be  saved  ?  My  belief  is,  that  the  dogma  entertained  by  a  few  is 
the  feeling  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the 
unconverted — that  somehow  or  other  they  will  get  an  interest  in 
the  mercy  and  forgiveness  of  God,  and  that  they  need  not  trouble 
themselves  about  it  now.  They  know  not  how,  they  cannot  say 
when ;  but  they  are  pretty  sure  that  that  mercy  will  be  shown 
them  when  they  stand  in  need  of  it.  This  is  not  the  theology  of 
the  Bible.  It  tells  you  that  God's  mercy  is  to  be  obtained  only 
in  one  way — only  by  knocking  at  the  one  door — only  by  pleading 
in  one  name — only  by  asking  through  one  channel.  If  it  be  not 
asked  through  that  name,  through  that  channel,  and  for  the 
sake  of  him  who  died  that  it  might  reach  us,  it  will  never  be 
obtained  at  all. 

Mere  forgiveness  is  not  the  sole  result  of  the  death  of  Jesus. 
He  died,  not  only  that  sin  may  be  removed,  but  that  human  na- 
ture might  be  restored,  rebeautified,  reconstructed  from  its  ruins, 
and.  made  fit  for,  as  well  as  entitled  to,  the  presence  of  God.  It 
is  as  necessary  that  you  should  be  sanctified  as  justified.  Justifi- 
cation and  acceptance  are  but  the  commencement,  not  the  close : 
they  are  not  (to  use  the  language  of  schoolmen)  the  terminus  ad 
quod,  but  the  terminus  a  quo ;  not  the  end  toward  which  you 
move,  but  the  starting-place  from  which  you  run  the  race  that 
leads  to  honour,  glory,  and  immortality.  If  j^ou  were  a  heathen, 
and  had  never  heard  the  gospel,  and  if  in  the  agonies  of  death 
Christ  upon  the  cross  were  pointed  out  to  you  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly, I  would  not  despair,  but  believe  that  then  and  there,  there 
would  be  forgiveness  for  you.  But  you  occupy  a  different  posi- 
tion. You  have  heard,  this  day,  what  lifts  you  out  of  that  posi- 
tion for  ever.  You  have  heard  that  God  waits,  that  God  is  now 
willing )  and  that  it  is  your  privilege,  your  duty,  and  safety,  to 
come  instantly  to  God.  Therefore,  if  you  adjourn  your  accept- 
ance of  the  truth,  it  must  be  amid  the  consciousness  of  a  duty 
you  wilfully  neglect;  it  is  adjourning  to  a  day  for  which  God  has 
given  no  promise ; — in  other  words,  it  is  confessing  your  sins  first, 
and  then  going  forth  to  do  that  sin ;  it  is  admitting  that  you 


848  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

know  your  duty,  but,  for  reasons  best  known  to  yourself,  you  pro- 
crastinate that  duty. 

But  I  believe  the  great  reason  why  so  few  think  deeply,  and  so 
few  are  interested  in  this  precious  sacrifice,  is,  that  they  do  not 
think  at  all  about  the  subject.  The  mass  of  mankind  have  their 
hearts  so  filled  with  thoughts  about  this  world,  that  they  have 
not  one  hour  for  solemn  thoughts  about  eternity.  The  morning 
is  for  breakfast,  the  forenoon  for  business,  the  evening  for  dinner, 
the  night  for  sleep, — not  one  moment  for  the  soul,  for  God,  for 
the  Bible,  the  judgment-seat,  eternity !  They  hear  the  funeral 
bell,  but  they  never  think  it  will  one  day  toll  for  them.  They 
see  the  funeral  procession,  but  they  forget  that  they  will  be  the 
main  object  of  another  similar  procession  one  day.  They  hear  of 
death  here,  and  sickness  there ;  but  they  never  think  it  possible 
for  them  to  die.  Life  is  the  most  precarious  thing,  the  most  frail 
thing.  The  strongest  and  healthiest  have  only  a  lease  for  the 
time  that  is  occupied  by  a  single  pulse  of  the  heart ;  and  as  soon 
as  that  heart  has  beaten,  the  lease  is  over :  God  in  his  grace  may 
renew  it,  and  does  renew  it  3  but  each  beat  is  the  end  of  a  lease. 
Soon  the  trumpet  will  sound,  and  the  dead  will  rise ;  and  if  that 
be  not  so  soon,  very  soon  we  shall  lie  down  upon  a  death-bed ; 
and  if  you  could  only  see  what  I  have  often  witnessed,  how  pale 
the  splendour  and  grandeur  of  the  world  looks  then,  how  poor, 
worthless,  and  valueless  its  honours,  its  wealth,  its  dignity,  weigh 
then, — if  you  could  only  realize  now  what  you  then  and  there  will 
feel,  you  would  rise  and  go  to  your  Father,  and  instantly,  in  the 
name  and  through  the  merits  of  Jesus,  seek  that  forgiveness 
which  is  waiting  for  every  sinner  in  this  assembly  that  will. 


349 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


THE    GREAT    SACRIFICE. 


"  And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for 
himself;  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city 
and  the  sanctuary ;  and  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the 
end  of  the  war  desolations  are  determined." — Daniel  ix.  26. 

In  my  previous  lecture  I  collected  some — not  some,  but 
many — of  the  remarkable  texts  of  Scripture,  which  describe  or 
allude  to  the  death  of  our  Blessed  Lord ;  and  I  showed,  that  if 
all  these  texts  be  collected  together,  and  their  scattered  rays  made 
to  converge,  as  it  were,  in  one  focus,  it  is  impossible  to  fail  to  see 
that  the  death  of  Jesus  was  more  than  that  of  a  mere  patient 
martyr,  and  that  it  is  neither  unnatm-al  nor  illogical  to  conclude, 
that  his  was  the  death  of  an  atoning  Victim,  of  one  "  cut  oiT,  but 
not  for  himself.^' 

I  proceed  in  this  lecture  to  show,  not  from  the  texts  which  I 
formerly  collected  and  collated,  but  rather  from  certain  principles 
indicated  in  Scripture,  and  fairly  deducible  by  our  own  minds 
from  the  language  of  Scripture,  that  the  death  of  Christ,  in  order 
to  constitute  the  substance,  or  have  a  claim  to  the  character,  of 
the  <'  good  news,'' — to  be  of  any  personal,  present,  and  everlast- 
ing virtue  to  us,  as  sinners,  must  have  been  an  atonement  made, 
an  expiation  and  sacrifice  presented,  by  the  substitute  for  the  sin- 
ner. I  showed  you — what  I  am  sure  3^ou  must  feel  to  be  per- 
fectly conclusive — that  the  texts  I  quoted  are  inexplicable  (if 
those  who  wrote  them  understood  the  use  of  language)  except  on 
the  supposition  that  Christ's  death  was  expiatory,  atoning,  or  a 
sacrifice  propitiatory  for  the  sins  of  all  that  believe. 

Let  me  now  look  at  three  great  propositions  which  seem  to  me 
to  necessitate  the  description  of  death  which  I  have  attributed  to 
Jesus,  namely — an  atonement  for  our  sins. 

30 


350  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

Let  us  look,  first,  at  the  law  of  God.  "What  is  the  law  ?  It  is 
not  holicess  created,  hut  holiness  simply  made  known.  ^'  Holi- 
ness is  perfect  happiness,  sin  is  perfect  misery,^'  would  have  been 
true  if  the  sentiment  had  never  been  revealed  in  human  speech. 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,''  was  not  made  when  the  law  was  given ;  it 
was  only  proclawied.  The  proclamation  of  the  law  is  mercy,  the 
expression  of  goodness  itself, — for  it  lets  the  creature  know  what 
the  Creator  ever  does,  ever  must,  and  ever  will,  exact  of  that 
creature. 

This  law,  thus  clearly  revealed  to  man,  has  been  broken  by  us ; 
conscience  unequivocally  says  so :  I  have  failed  in  obedience  to 
it ;  every  thought  in  my  mind,  every  affection  in  my  heart,  every 
record  in  my  memory,  every  pulse  in  my  being,  tells  me  I  have 
broken  that  law,  in  thought,  or  in  word,  or  in  deed.  I  have  not 
trodden  the  path  that  leads  to  happiness ;  I  have  not  paid  the 
price  of  which  everlasting  joy  is  the  reward;  I  have  not  done  the 
work  of  which  heaven  is  the  wages.  That  law  clearly  and  un- 
equivocally tells  me,  "  As  far  as  I,  the  law,  am  concerned,  I  can 
hold  out  no  hope  of  a  passport  to  glory  to  you, — no  prospect  of 
everlasting  joy, — for  ^  cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  that  are  written  in  the  law,  to  do  them.'  "  These  words 
just  describe  the  condition  of  every  one.  Under  the  curse  is  that 
state  in  which  we  are  born — the  cold  shadow  under  which  we  lie. 
We  do  not  need  to  perpetrate  some  terrible  violation  of  God's  law 
in  order  to  be  condemned  :  we  are  born  condemned ;  we  are  born 
in  prison ;  we  are  criminals  by  birth — we  need  no  change  in 
order  to  be  lost,  the  change  must  take  place  in  order  to  our  being 
saved,  that  thus  may  be  turned  our  terrible  and  downward  pro- 
cession, and  given  us  an  impulse  that  will  lift  us  from  ruin  to  a 
state  of  restoration,  from  enmity  to  God,  to  a  condition  of  recon- 
ciliation and  friendship. 

Where,  I  ask,  is  there  any  disclosure  by  the  law  of  the  possi- 
bility of  life  through  our  obedience  to  that  law  ?  We  are  satisfied 
that  we  have  broken  it ;  we  are  satisfied,  from  its  own  lips,  that 
we  are  condemned  by  it.  How  shall  we  escape  the  consequences? 
Is  there  any  crevice  in  the  whole  of  Sinai  out  of  which  there  is 
emitted  one  word  of  the  hope  of  restoration  to  the  guilty  ?     Is 


THE   GREAT   SACRIFICE.  351 

there  any  reasoning  mind  that  will  show  me  that  God  can  be 
merciful  to  the  extent  of  forgiving  all  my  sins,  and  yet  continue, 
what  he  proclaims  himself  to  be,  the  infinitely  holy,  the  infinitely 
just,  the  infinitely  true  ?  In  other  words,  as  long  as  I  am  deal- 
ing with  the  law,  and  directed  by  its  light  only,  having  no  con- 
nection with  the  gospel,  and  without  a  ray  of  its  glory,  I  ask, 
how  long  will  the  mercy  of  God  descend  in  pardoning  ? — how 
high  will  the  justice  of  God  rise  in  punishing?  Will  he  be  mer- 
ciful, and  save  all  ? — or  will  he  be  just,  and  condemn  all  ?  Where 
will  his  justice  stop  in  condemning?  Where  will  his  mercy  stop 
in  acquitting  and  forgiving  ?  Must  he  not  be,  as  far  as  human 
light  can  teach  us,  inconsistently  merciful  in  order  to  be  just,  and 
inconsistently  just  in  order  to  be  merciful — a  God  who  is  a  com- 
posite of  contradictions  and  impossibilities,  if  so  be  that  sin  is  to 
be  forgiven  without  an  atonement,  or  an  expiatory  sacrifice  ?  Is 
there  one  intimation,  however  faint,  of  forgiveness  from  law  ?  Is 
there  any  hint,  however  dim,  in  nature  ? — is  there  any  rock  on 
the  earth, — any  star  in  the  sky, — any  flower  on  the  field, — any 
tree,  or  cloud,  or  created  thing, — is  there  any  page  in  memory, 
any  pulse  in  conscience, — any  intimation  in  the  height  or  in  the 
depths,  any  exquisite  analogy,  any  beautiful  and  fair  revelation, 
in  the  currents  of  Providence,  that  tells  me  that  there  is  forgive- 
ness with  God  ?  There  is  none.  I  can  read  or  hear  none.  AVind, 
and  wave,  and  flower,  and  star,  earth  and  sea,  memory  and  con- 
science— all  are  dumb,  hopelessly  dumb;  they  do  not  give  the 
least  hint  of  forgiving  mercy  in  that  holy  God  against  whom  we 
have  sinned. 

Let  me  look  at  another  division  of  human  nature,  and  we  shall 
see  from  it  the  necessity  for  that  atonement  of  which  I  have 
already  treated.  In  every  man's  bosom  there  is  what  is  called  a 
conscience;  and  that  conscience  responds  to  the  moral,  just  as 
taste  responds  to  the  beautiful,  and  reason  to  the  true.  Any  one 
who  will  speak  honestly,  or  express  his  feelings  honestly,  will 
tell  you  that  his  conscience,  however  seared,  however  deadened, 
however  it  may  have  been  bribed  and  stupefied,  still  responds, 
more  or  less  distinctly,  to  the  good,  and  remonstrates,  in  more  or 
less  unequivocal  terms,  against  the  evil.  Does  it  not  often  speak 
to  you  in  spite  of  you  ?     Docs  it  not  often,  indeed,  excuse  ?  but 


352  PROrHETIC    STUDIES. 

does  it  not  still  oftener  accuse  ?  Do  not  its  accusations,  on  the 
whole,  outnumber  its  apologies  ?  Does  it  not  talk  to  you  in  your 
most  silent  and  meditative  moments  of  a  righteousness  that  is 
wanting,  of  a  Judge  that  is  waiting,  and  of  a  destiny  far  beyond, 
that  will  be  for  ever  blackened  or  brightened  by  what  you  are — 
sad  and  sorrowful,  or  radiant  with  joy  and  glory  ? 

Does  not  conscience  often  ask,  in  its  calmest  moments,  what 
was  asked  by  the  prophet  of  old :  "■  Wherewith  shall  I  come  be- 
fore the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  before  the  High  God  ?  Shall  I 
come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings,  with  calves  of  a  year  old  ? 
Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my 
transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  V  And 
in  order  to  answer  this  question,  you  have  tried  fastings,  austeri- 
ties, mortifications  of  the  body;  but  none  of  these  have  satisfied 
you.  You  have  fled  to  the  cell  of  the  monk,  to  the  solitude  of 
the  anchorite,  or,  like  Martin  Luther,  you  have  climbed  on  bare 
knees  the  penitential  stairs  of  St.  Peter's;  but  conscience,  un- 
reached by  these  external  penances,  has  smitten  you  and  accused 
you  still.  Or,  perhaps,  priests  have  absolved  you — popes  have 
given  you  indulgences,  councils  have  proclaimed  long  and  lasting 
jubilees;  but  you  have  found  that  neither  in  priest,  nor  pope,  nor 
in  council,  nor  in  absolution,  nor  in  jubilee,  nor  in  mortifications^ 
nor  in  austerities,  has  there  been  any  virtue  that  could  penetrate 
the  soul,  and  touch  and  heal  the  inner  and  sore  part  of  the  con- 
science ;  it  cries  aloud — ^You  are  sinful ! — and  it  concludes,  on 
irresistible  evidence,  that  there  is  no  remedy  in  law,  or  in  nature^ 
for  its  malady.  Thus,  if  we  look  at  God's  law — uncompromising 
and  undiluted  law — we  see  the  necessity  of  something  being  done 
to  right  us  in  relation  to  that  law.  If  we  examine  oar  own  con- 
sciences, we  feel  the  necessity  of  something  being  done  to  give 
these  consciences  peace. 

If  we  examine,  in  the  next  place,  the  very  nature  of  sin,  we 
shall  see  the  necessity  of  some  such  stupendous  interposition  as 
that  of  God  in  our  nature,  our  sacrifice,  and  our  atonement.  Sin 
is,  in  the  history  of  the  universe,  a  new  thing,  a  strange  pheno- 
menon, an  awful  interpolation — hateful,  frightful,  destructive. 
We  do  not  see  or  feel  it  as  it  is.     Our  insensibility  is  propor- 


THE    GREAT   SACRIFICE.  353 

tionate  to  our  spiritual  deadness.  The  more  sin  contaminates,  the 
more  it  blinds  us  to  its  nature,  its  demerit,  and  its  effects.  Sin 
is  unlike  every  other  thing.  Not  its  least  awful  characteristic  is 
its  endurance ;  it  stretches  into  eternity,  and  acts  for  ever  as  a 
corrosive  and  consuming  curse.  There  is  no  evidence  that  sin 
originates  its  own  cure.  If  there  were  evidence  from  analogy,  or 
from  experience,  or  from  history,  that  sin,  like  a  fever,  exhausts 
itself,  and  not  only  leaves  no  injurious  effect  behind,  but  lets  the 
patient  return  to  freedom  and  happiness,  one  might  conceive  it 
possible  to  be  eternally  happy  without  an  atonement.  But  there 
is  no  evidence  in  this  world  that  sin  exhausts  itself,  or  leaves  its 
victim,  or  loses  its  virus  j  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  in  the 
world  to  come  the  state  of  the  lost  shall  be  mitigated,  or  their 
sufferings,  the  penal  results  of  sin,  mitigated,  or  the  curse  that 
wraps  them  like  a  shroud  ever  put  off.  Let  me  illustrate  my 
meaning.  Suppose  a  convict  is  banished  to  a  penal  colony  for  a 
term  of  seven  years.  If  he  spends  the  seven  years,  he  exhausts 
his  punishment,  and  he  is  let  loose,  and  he  returns  again  to  his 
native  land.  But  suppose  that  convict,  in  the  course  of  the  seven 
years,  commits  a  new  offence,  that  again  he  receives  the  sentence 
of  other  seven  years :  and  suppose  that  in  the  second  term  of 
banishment  he  commits  a  fresh  offence  still ;  you  can  see  a  career 
of  ceaseless  sin,  and,  therefore,  a  course  of  ceaseless  penalty.  It 
is  so,  my  dear  friends,  with  the  lost.  By  the  very  nature  of  their 
being,  they  are  ever  sinning,  and  ever  suffering.  Sin  in  the  realms 
of  the  lost  is  an  eternal  evil,  never  working  out  its  own  cure,  but 
ever  working  out  its  own  perpetuity.  By  their  very  instinct,  by 
the  very  laws  of  their  nature,  they  go  on  sinning ;  and  by  the  law 
of  God  they  must  go  on  suffering.  Who  knows  but  that  the 
awful  characteristic  of  the  sufferings  of  the  lost  may  be,  that  their 
sins  and  their  sufferings  accumulate  for  ever,  and  that  hell,  in  an 
arithmetical,  or  a  geometrical,  or  some  dread  ratio,  goes  on  in- 
creasing in  its  terrors,  as  the  lost  multiply  their  transgressions  and 
their  blasphemies  against  God  ? 

It  is  thus  that  we  see,  whether  we  look  at  God's  holy  law,  or 
at  man's  own  conscience,  or  at  the  nature  of  sin,  that  some  grand 
interposition  man  is  incapable  of  devising  is  needed,  before  that 
law  can  be  magnified,  conscience  pacified,  sin  expiated,  extirpated, 

30* 


354  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

and  put  away  for  eTer.  Only  by  these,  and  not  in  spite  of  these, 
can  man  be  saved.  At  this  crisis  we  have  tlie  most  glorious 
tidiBgs  that  ever  sounded  in  the  ear  of  man  :  '•''  The  Messiah  was 
cut  oif/^ — there  is  the  evidence  he  was  man ; — '■^  but  not  for  him- 
self/^— there  is  the  proof  that  he  was  something  more  than  man. 
The  53d  of  Isaiah  is  the  most  brilliant  commentary  on  Daniel  ix. 
26 ;  a  commentary  that  has  multiplied  its  echoes  in  varied  accents 
over  all  the  Bible.  '^  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  bis 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life  :'^  '■'-  might  not  perish,^'  in  spite  of 
that  law  which  condemns  him,  in  spite  of  that  conscience  which 
accuses,  in  spite  of  that  sin  which  ever  works  out  its  own  perpe- 
tuity. ^^In  him  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the 
forgiveness  of  sin."  '■'■  By  him  all  are  justified  from  all  things 
from  which  we  could  not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses/' 
After  you  have  read  the  ten  commandments,  and  applied  them  in 
all  their  length  and  breadth  to  your  condition  and  conscience, 
what  a  glorious  fact  that  the  chiefest  of  sinners  can  write  down 
after  the  tenth  commandment,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his 
Son,  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  *'  Blessed  are  the  people  that  know 
the  joyful  sound ;"  "  blessed  are  the  people  that  are  in  such  a 
case."  In  the  light  of  this  divine  revelation,  through  the  provi- 
sions of  this  atonement,  I  can  clearly  and  rejoicingly  see  how 
God  can  pardon  me,  while  even  I  am  sinning,  and  as  he  pardons 
me,  draw  my  heart  off  alike  from  the  love,  the  power,  and  the 
pursuit  of  sin.  I  can  see  through  this  glorious  atonement  how 
God  can  retain  all  his  justice,  and  present  it  to  us  with  a  greater 
lustre ;  all  his  holiness,  and  reveal  it  to  us  in  more  august  glory, 
and  yet  justify  from  all  their  sins  the  ungodly  that  believe.  I  can 
see  how  this  law,  which  God  did  not  create  on  Sinai  but  only  re- 
vealed, is  magnified  in  his  eyes,  and  before  the  universe,  while 
the  greatest  sinner  is  forgiven  his  greatest  sins.  Jesus,  I  am  told, 
thus  cut  off  as  our  representative,  bare  our  curse  and  the  conse- 
quences of  our  sin  :  he  obeyed  in  our  stead  the  exactions  of  'a 
holy  law.  In  Christ  I  am  as  if  I  had  suffered  and  exhausted  the 
penalty  I  have  incurred ;  in  Christ  I  am  as  if  I  had  obeyed  and 
rendered  perfect  obedience  to  the  law,  which  I  cannot  perfectly 
obey.     Our  sins  were  on  him,  our  infirmities  and  agonies  were  in 


THE   GREAT    SACRIFICE.  355 

liira.  He  was  the  spotless  Lamb  arrayed  in  our  tainted  fleece ; 
and  we  the  stray  sheep  may  now  be  clothed  in  his  glorious 
righteousness.  God  saw  iniquity  in  Jesus  where  nobody  else  saw 
itj  and,  blessed  be  his  name,  at  the  judgment-day  he  will  see 
righteousness  upon  you  and  me  where  nobody  else  can  see  it.  God 
hid  his  eyes  from  the  innocence  of  Jesus,  because  our  sins  were 
laid  on  him ;  he  will  hide  his  eyes  from  the  guilt  of  sinners,  be- 
cause of  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  laid  upon  us.  Jesus  was 
condemned  for  our  sins,  in  which  he  had  no  share;  we  shall  be 
justified  by  his  righteousness,  in  which  we  have  had  no  personal 
part  whatever.  Our  sins  laid  upon  him,  brought  upon  him  the 
thunders  and  curses  of  the  law;  his  righteousness  laid  upon  us 
will  draw  down  upon  us  the  blessings  of  life  everlasting.  Such, 
then,  is  that  atonement  expressed  in  the  words  of  Daniel:  ''Cut 
oif,  but  not  for  himself.^'  He  died,  the  just  in  the  room  of  the 
unjust,  in  order  to  bring  us  unto  God. 

But  all  that  I  have  shown  respecting  the  atonement  as  yet  is, 
that  it  opens  up  a  possibility  of  forgiveness.  It  may  perhaps  be, 
as  far  as  I  have  yet  shown,  only  a  loophole  by  which  the  sinner 
can  escape  from  ruin  and  get  access  to  heaven.  It  may  be,  as 
far  as  we  have  yet  advanced,  a  mode  by  which  we  can  escape  the 
penalties  of  a  violated  law,  and  be  introduced  into  heaven  and  to 
the  presence  of  God,  but  no  evidence  that  I  shall  be  welcome 
there.  I  have,  therefore,  to  intimate,  that  the  atonement  is  not 
only  the  provision  of  a  way  of  escape,  but  more — it  is  the  highest, 
the  intensest  expression  of  the  infinite  and  inexhaustible  love 
that  God  bare  me ;  it  is  not  merely  that  I  escape  by  the  atone- 
ment, that  I  am  simply  forgiven  by  it,  but  that  I  am  accepted  by 
it.  If  the  atonement  were  a  mere  escape-way  from  the  curse,  I 
might  just  be  admitted  into  heaven  when  I  die,  exactly  as  the 
criminal  to  whom  I  have  referred,  when  he  had  finished  his  seven 
years  of  banishment,  comes  back  to  his  native  place,  and  is  ad- 
mitted to  citizenship  :  he  is  not  cordially  welcomed;  he  is  looked 
on  with  susj)icion,  and  his  brand  never  leaves  him ;  he  remains 
a  marked  character ;  you  tolerate  him ;  but  you  do  not  admit  him 
to  your  friendship,  to  your  family,  or  to  your  bosom.  It  might  be, 
if  the  atonement  is  a  mere  provision  for  the  escape  of  sinners 
from  hell,  that  I  should  be  admitted  into  heaven  and  tolerated 


356  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

there,  that  I  should  be  merely  admitted  there,  that  I  should  he 
borne  and  forborne  with  there.  If  this  were  all,  it  would  not 
satisfy  me.  I  want  not  merely  that  God  should  let  me  go,  but 
that  he  should  take  me  back ;  I  want  not  only  to  be  lifted  from 
the  curse,  but  to  be  placed  in  the  sunshine  of  God's  countenance; 
I  want  not  simply  to  be  admitted  to  heaven,  but  to  be  welcomed 
to  heaven — not  to  be  tolerated  as  a  pardoned  criminal,  but  to  be 
welcomed  as  an  accepted  and  beloved  sou.  Blessed  be  God !  this 
atonement,  this  ^^cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,^'  this  sacrifice  of 
Jesus,  is  not  only  precious  for  what  it  does,  but  for  what  it  ex- 
presses :  it  proves  to  me  not  only  that  God  can  save  me  because 
a  provision  has  been  made,  but  that  he  saves  me  because  he 
loves  me ;  not  only  that  he  will  forgive  me,  but  that  he  will  also 
take  me  back;  that  not  only  is  the  Legislator  satisfied  to  admit 
me  into  heaven,  but  that  the  Father  waits  at  the  threshold  to 
welcome  me  to  his  bosom.  '^  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son.^^  Therefore,  the  atonement  is  not 
merely,  as  many  people  drily  and  coarsely  regard  it,  a  leglslstor 
making  provision  for  the  possibility  of  criminals  escaping  a  curse, 
but  it  is  a  Father  making  a  channel  for  the  outflow  of  his  infinite 
love,  that  the  prodigal  may  again  be  his  restored  son,  that  the 
dead  may  live,  that  the  lost  may  be  found,  and  all  heaven  rejoice 
that  it  is  so.  Never,  then,  my  dear  friends,  forget  or  merge  this 
blessed  and  delightful  view  of  the  atonement — that  it  is  precious 
not  only  for  what  it  does,  but  for  what  it  expresses ;  not  only  as 
the  provision  of  a  way  of  forgiveness,  but  as  the  expression  of  the 
infinite  love  that  God  bears  to  you  and  to  me,  his  believing  and 
accepted  family. 

If,  then,  this  atonement,  thus  precious  and  needed  as  I  have 
shown  it  to  be,  was  made  by  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  I  think  it  is  impossible  to  escape  the  inference  that  he 
that  made  it  must  have  been  more  than  man ;  that  he  is,  as  all 
evangelical  Christians  believe  him  to  be,  and  rejoice  that  he  is, 
^Hhe  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of 
his  person."  If  Jesus  were  simply  man,  no  atonement  has  been 
made  for  us.  Judging  by  the  revelation  God  has  given  us,  I 
hold  that  it  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  the  eternal  laws 
of  God's  moral  universe,  so  far  as  these  are  embodied  in   the 


THE    GREAT   SACRIFICE.  357 

Scriptures,  to  condemn  an  innocent  man  to  die  for  even  a  guilty 
world.  For  what  is  the  law  of  God's  universe?  That  perfect 
holiness  is  perfect  happiness.  But  if  an  angel,  or  an  archangel, 
the  most  exalted  and  glorious  of  seraphim  or  cherubim,  had  been 
doomed  by  God  to  suffer,  such  a  doom  would  have  been  reversing 
his  own  law — in  short,  as  great  a  violation  of  that  law  as  if  he 
had  admitted  a  guilty  creature  to  be  happy.  There  would  have 
been  as  great  an  inversion  of  God's  moral  government  in  con-* 
demning  an  innocent  creature  to  suffer  as  in  admitting  a  guilty 
creature  to  be  happy.  Jesus,  therefore,  while  he  became  man, 
was,  and  is,  God.  He  that  suffered  was  he  that  slew :  he  alone 
could  say,  (which  is  the  very  language  of  Godhead,-)  ^'  I  lay  down 
my  life.''  I  need  no  express  texts,  though  there  are  many,  to 
teach  me  that  Christ  is  God,  while  I  hear  him  saying,  '■'•  I  lay 
down  my  life."  Man  he  is,  for  he  has  life  which  can  be  laid 
down )  more  than  man  he  must  be,  for  no  creature  could  say  as  he 
did.  If  a  creature  were  to  volunteer  to  lay  down  his  life,  he 
would  be  a  suicide.  My  life  is  not  my  own ;  it  is  not  at  my  own 
disposal ;  I  have  no  more  right  to  lay  it  down  than  I  have  power 
to  take  it  up.  Therefore,  he  who  could  say,  "  I  lay  down  my 
life,"  who  clio?>e  to  die,  who  voluntarily  sacrificed  himself,  must 
be  man  indeed,  otherwise  he  could  not  suffer,  but  more  than  man, 
the  Lord  of  life,  or  he  could  not  lay  down  his  life.  If  Christ  be 
not  God,  I  have  said,  there  could  be  no  atonement ;  to  renounce 
his  deity  is  to  part  with  the  atonement )  and  if  there  be  no  atone- 
ment, what  is  the  New  Testament  ? — only  a  clearer  law,  a 
brighter  and  more  intensely  glowing  Sinai,  an  improved  edition 
of  the  Old.  But  how  could  it  be  worthy  of  the  name  of  "  good 
news"  to  let  me  see  duty  more  vividly,  to  let  me  hear  the  curse 
upon  disobedience  more  distinctly,  and  the  promises  of  obedience 
more  fully  ?  Such  a  revelation  would  not  be  comfort.  I  cannot 
obey  the  elder  law,  wrote  in  Sinai,  or  on  my  own  conscience;  I 
want  not  direction  only,  but  remedy.  The  wounded  traveller 
needs  fii'st  to  be  healed,  then  to  have  the  road  pointed  out  to  him. 
The  dead  need  first  to  be  quickened,  then  to  be  taught  the 
direction  in  which  they  are  to  move.  But  there  is  an  atonment, 
and  he  that  made  it  is  God  over  all.  Jesus  is  our  Sacrifice,  our 
Saviour,  our  God.     In  the  tears  that  trickled  down  that  couutC' 


358  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

nance,  wliich  was  more  marred  than  any  man's,  I  can  see  spark- 
ling the  very  beams  of  the  glory  that  dwelt  between  the  cherubim. 
His  pangs  and  his  sorrows  were  not  those  of  a  patient  martyr 
only,  but  those,  in  addition,  of  an  atoning  victim.  I  can  see 
immensity  in  every  act,  infinity  in  every  pang;  atonement,  re- 
paration, restoration,  in  all.  The  law  sought  the  suffering  of  a 
man,  and  Jesus  gave  it  the  suffering  of  a  God.  He  was  David's 
son,  and  because  he  was  so,  he  suffered;  he  was  David's  Lord, 
and  because  he  was  so,  he  satisfied  while  he  suffered.  Christ  was 
Grod,  God  in  our  nature,  and  his  death  was  atoning :  "  He  was 
cut  off,  but  not  for  himself.'^ 

What  joyful  news  are  these  !  One  would  think  if  people  heard 
these  things  for  the  first  time,  they  would  almost  electrify  every 
heart  with  joy  unutterable  and  full  of  glory.  And  yet  these  are 
the  very  good  news.  If  these  facts  be  as  I  have  stated — and  I 
have  under-stated  rather  than  over-stated  the  truth — what,  then, 
may  I  infer  ?  If  Christ  be  my  Sacrifice,  my  Saviour,  my  Atone- 
ment, my  all,  then  I  shall  never  perish.  It  is  as  impossible  that 
a  sinner  believing  upon  Jesus  for  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins  can 
perish,  as  that  a  guilty  being,  without  faith  in  Christ,  can  be 
happy  for  ever.  There  is  no  more  guarantee  that  the  lost  out  of 
Christ  shall  perish,  than  there  is  that  the  saved  in  Christ  shall  be 
happy.  Believing  on  him,  I  have  life  for  ever.  Toward  the 
procurement  of  the  pardon  of  my  sins  I  have  nothing  to  suffer, 
for  Christ  has  suffered  all ;  toward  the  purchase  of  my  heaven,  I 
have  nothing  to  do,  for  Christ  has  done  all.  Whatever  I  suffer 
cannot  be  penal,  for  Christ  has  exhausted  the  penalty ;  whatever 
I  do  cannot  be  meritorious,  for  Christ,  the  Lord,  is  all  my 
righteousness — I  am  complete  in  Christ,  wanting  nothing.  Jus- 
tice cannot  punish  twice :  the  law  cannot  exact  twice :  "he  was 
cut  off," — there  was  justice  meted  out  to  the  Son  of  God — 
'^  but  not  for  himself," — there  is  mercy  to  the  sons  of  men.  To 
them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is  no  condemnation  in  the 
height  or  the  depth,  in  conscience,  in  law,  anywhere,  in  the 
past,  the  present,  the  future — there  is  a  perfect  and  glorious 
acquittal. 

Do  you  believe  in  this  blessed  Saviour?  I  do  not  mean  th:'t 
sham  belief  which  can  repeat  the  creed ;  nor  that  belief  which 


THE   GREAT   SACRIFICE.  859 

thinks  all  is  right  because  we  have  been  baptized;  I  mean  that 
earnest,  living,  leaning  trust,  which  feels,  as  its  very  life,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  whole  universe  on  which  and  by  which  one 
can  be  saved  but  in  Christ  Jesus ;  that  faith  that  flees  from  a  law 
that  curses  you,  to  a  Saviour  that  blesses  you  :  that  faith  that  flees 
from  self,  with  all  its  excuses,  its  accusations,  its  apologies,  and 
sinfulness,  and  seeks  peace  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant. 

Oh  !  happy  and  safe  is  that  mother's  son  who  has  this  faith ; 
for  to  him  there  is  no  condemnation,  and  nothing  shall  be  able  to 
separate  him  from  the  love  of  God  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus !  Act 
upon  this  faith ;  regard  its  objects  as  realities  :  go  forth  into  the 
world,  acting  upon  it,  and  honouring  God,  accepting  all  he  is 
and  says  as  substance  :  "  Them  that  honour  me,  I  will  honour.^' 
Confidence  in  Jesus  is  happiness  to  man  and  protection  from  God. 
Suspicion  of  God  is  misery  to  the  creature,  and  displeasing  to  his 
Maker. 

If  the  atonement  be  thus  complete,  we  have  in  this  a  right  and 
scriptural  view  of  the  Lord's  supper.  What  is  the  Lord's  sup- 
per? It  is  a  feast  that  follows  the  sacrifice.  Let  us  revert  to  the 
Passover  of  old.  There  was  first  the  slaughter  of  the  lamb,  which 
was  the  painful  and  the  sacrificial  part ;  there  was  the  eating  the 
prepared  flesh  of  the  lamb,  which  was  the  joyful  or  the  festival 
part.  In  the  ancient  Passover  both  had  of  necessity  to  be  com- 
bined; the  same  parties  who  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  the  feast 
had  to  go  through  the  pain,  year  after  year,  of  sacrificing  the 
victim;  but  in  our  case  these  two  have  been  divided;  our  blessed 
Lord  has  monopolized  the  painful,  and  bequeathed  the  pleasing 
only  to  us.  The  sacrifice  is  finished,  the  festival  is  continued 
daily;  and  we  come  this  day  to  the  Lord's  table,  not  as  to  a  pain- 
ful tragedy,  in  which  we  are  to  sympathize  with  the  weeping  and 
agonized  sufierer,  but  to  the  glad  festival  that  succeeds  the  sacri- 
fice, in  which  we  are  to  participate  with  joyful  and  grateful  recol- 
lections that  Christ  our  Passover  was  sacrificed  for  us.  The 
eucharist  is  not  a  fast,  but  a  feast ;  not  a  sad  and  sorrowful  sacri- 
fice, but  a  festival  after  the  sacrifice,  for  which,  and  in  which,  glad 
hearts  and  grateful  and  happy  songs  and  bright  hopes  become 
us;  net  sadness,  not  gloom,  not  painful  sympathies.     Humbled 


360  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

we  may  he,  because  of  our  sins ;  but  glad  we  must  be  that  these 
sins  are  all  forgiven  and  blotted  out  through  him  that  died  for  us 
and  rose  again.  By  appearing  at  the  feast  after  the  sacrifice,  we 
profess  our  trust  in  the  efficacy  of  that  sacrifice — our  not  being 
ashamed  of  him  that  offered  it — our  gratitude  to  God  that  such  a 
sacrifice  was  provided  in  his  infinite  mercy;  and  we  say,  every 
time  we  communicate,  that  dumb,  but  eloquent  and  significant 
act,  "  Whoever  may  be  ashamed  of  the  crucified,  I  am  not;  who- 
ever may  be  ashamed  of  the  cross,  I  glory  in  it :  it  is  all  my  sal- 
vation, and  all  my  desire.'^  Those  sins  that  rise  in  painful 
reminiscences  even  after  you  have  renounced  them — that  past  life 
over  which  you  have  mourned  and  grieved,  and  the  errors  and 
sins  which,  by  grace,  you  have  repudiated  and  abjured  for  ever, 
may  indeed  humble  you,  but  should  not  make  you  feel  unsafe. 
Kecollect  the  Passover.  When  the  Israelite  father  had  sprinkled 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  upon  the  threshold  of  his  door,  he  retired 
into  the  inner-room,  and,  in  that  memorable  night,  gathered  his 
family  around  him.  No  doubt,  many  an  Israelite  father,  when  he 
heard  the  rush  of  the  angel's  wing,  as  he  swept  with  the  speed 
of  the  lightning  through  every  street,  and  alley,  and  court  of 
Bahab,  felt  his  heart  throb  rapidly  within  him,  and  feared  that 
the  next  stroke  of  the  angel  might  be  upon  his  own  fairest  and 
first-born  one.  But  his  trembling  did  not  make  the  angel  enter; 
not  all  his  doubts,  his  fears,  his  suspicions,  made  the  angel  pause. 
The  sprinkled  blood  was  there  :  he  minded  not  that  there  was  a 
fainting,  failing  heart  within ;  and  on  he  swept  till  he  found  a 
threshold  where  no  blood  was  sprinkled.  It  is  not  the  weakness 
of  your  faith  that  weakens  your  interest  in  Jesus ;  it  is  not  doubts, 
fears,  suspicions,  painful,  sinful,  unworthy  as  they  are ;  your  only 
safety  in  the  whole  universe  is  this — that  the  blood  of  sprinkling 
is  on  your  hearts ;  if  it  be  there — faith  in  the  atonement  of  Jesus 
— all  is  well,  all  is  safe,  safe  as  the  very  throne  and  being  of  God 
himself. 

You  say,  "^  How  do  I  appropriate  this  blood  ?  I  cannot  take 
literal  blood  and  sprinkle  it  on  a  literal  threshold."  You  are  not 
asked  to  do  so.  Moral  things  are  not  less  true  than  material. 
Many  philosophers  say  that  the  material  is  unreal,  and  that  the 
moral  alone  is  the  real.     What  you  are  asked  to  do  is  this — to 


THE   GREAT   SACRIFICE.  361 

have  faitli  in  Jesus.  But  even  tliat  faith  is  not  your  Saviour. 
There  is,  I  fear,  a  prevalent  and  very  erroneous  notion  in  this 
matter.  The  old  formula  was,  "  Do  and  live ;"  the  new  formula 
many  imagine  in  some  degree  the  converse,  "  Believe  and  live.^' 
They  think  that  as  the  old  formula  was  doing  God's  will,  and  thus 
obtaining  life,  so  the  new  one  is  faith,  or  believing  God's  word, 
and  thus  gaining  eternal  life.  It  is  not  so  If  it  were,  it  would 
be  substituting  rightness  of  creed  for  rightness  of  life;  and  in 
both  cases  it  would  be  something  of  the  creature's  own.  The 
fact  is,  God  requires  at  this  moment  just  what  he  required  of 
Adam  in  Paradise  before  he  fell — a  perfect  obedience,  or  righte- 
ousness without  flaw,  or  blemish,  or  short-coming  in  his  sight.  I 
say,  the  requirement  that  God  makes  in  grace  is  just  the  require- 
ment that  God  made  in  Paradise — perfect  obedience  to  the  law. 
Do  not  think  that  the  gospel  is  simply  diluted  law,  and  that  the 
New  Testament  is  simply  a  lower  Old  Testament ;  that  God  will 
be  satisfied  with  a  sincere,  though  imperfect  obedience,  in  the 
room  of  a  perfect  obedience.  He  demands  now,  as  he  ever  de- 
manded, and  as  he  will  never  cease  to  demand,  a  perfect  righte- 
ousness as  the  only  title  to  heaven.  You  ask.  Where  then  is  the 
difference  between  our  state  and  Adam's  ?  In  Adam's  case  it  was 
his  work ;  in  our  case  it  is  our  acceptance.  Adam  had  to  do  it ; 
we  have  to  accept  it  as  already  done,  already  achieved,  already 
perfected.  It  is  faith's  province  simply  to  accept.  Adam  had  to 
do,  to  be  righteous,  and  be  entitled  to  heaven ;  we  have  to  accept 
the  righteousness  Christ  has  provided,  and  thus  be  saved.  Hence 
faith  is  not  the  ground  of  salvation  :  it  is  the  eye  that  sees,  the 
ear  that  hears,  the  feet  that  run,  the  hand  that  grasps ;  it  is  the 
means,  not  the  end.  It  believes  .that  Christ  was  cut  off,  "  but 
not  for  himself.^^  And  if  he  died  for  sinners,  why  not  for  me  ? 
Not,  "  Why  for  me  V  but,  "  Why  not  for  me  V  Thus  resting 
and  believing,  it  has  peace  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 


31 


362 


LECTUEE  XXV. 


THE    MISSION    OF   THE  MESSIAH. 

"  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people  and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to 
finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconcilia- 
tion for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the 
vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most  Holy." — Daniel  ix.  24. 

I  DO  not  discuss  tlie  chronology  of  tliis  prophecy  in  my  pre- 
sent lecture;  this  I  reserve  for  the  next,  in  which  I  hope  to  de- 
monstrate, with  irresistible  conclusion,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Messiah  pointed  out  by  the  prophet,  and  that  in  him  the  predic- 
tion I  have  read  is  gloriously  fulfilled. 

I  have  already  shown  that  the  prediction,  ^'  The  Messiah  shall 
be  cut  oiF,  but  not  for  himself,^'  was  realized  in  Christ.  I 
have  now  to  prove  that  the  prophecy,  that  he  shall  "  finish  the 
transgression,  make  an  end  of  sin,  make  reconciliation  for  ini- 
quity, bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  seal  up  the  vision  and 
the  prophecy,  and  anoint  the  most  Holy,'^  has  been  fulfilled  in 
the  mission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  therein  alone.  And 
when  I  have  shown  that  the  moral  import  of  the  prophecy  is  ful- 
filled in  him,  and  afterward  that  the  chronology  of  the  prophecy 
finds  its  termination  also  in  him,  I  shall  have  given  you  the 
clearest  possible  demonstration,  if  any  additional  be  required, 
first,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  fathers,  and, 
next,  that  Daniel  spake  as  he  was  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God. 

The  first  work  which  Christ  is  here  predicted  to  accomplish  is 
to  ''  finish  the  transgression.''  By  looking  at  the  margins  of 
your  Bibles,  you  will  see  that  the  stricter  and  more  accurate 
translation  (for  such  the  marginal  translation  always  is)  is,  "  to 
r entrain  transgression. '^     We  are  taught  therefore,  in  this  clause, 


THE    MISSION    OF    THE    MESSIAH.  3G3 

that  one  great  effect  of  the  mission  of  the  Messiah  will  be  to 
"  restrain  transgression/'  Its  next  result  will  be  to  make  an 
end  of  sin;  next,  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity;  next,  to 
bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  to  seal  up  the  vision  and  the 
prophecy:  and  lastly,  to  anoint  the  most  Holy. 

Let  us  contemplate  the  first — to  restrain  transgression.  I  re- 
strict myself  here  to  the  one  view  of  his  mission  here  specified 
— viz.  its  sin-restraining  influence.  It  is  not  here  said  it  shall 
be  the  result  of  his  work  to  create  holiness  in  the  hearts  of  his 
own;  this,  it  is  tnie,  is  otherwise,  and  clearly  stated;  but  it  is 
declared  that  the  effect  of  the  mission  of  Jesus,  of  the  word  that 
he  should  preach  to  the  people,  and  the  work  he  should  do  for 
them,  will  be  to  restrain  or  curb  transgression.  Has  not  this 
been  the  historical  result  of  Christianity,  wherever  it  has  been 
effectually  proclaimed?  On  those  who  have  not  embraced  its 
truths  with  saving  faith,  it  has  yet  exercised  a  restrictive  moral 
power  that  has  made  them,  even  in  its  twilight,  different  from 
what  they  would  have  been  if  Christianity  had  never  been 
preached; — in  other  words,  there  is  an  indirect  influence  of  the 
gospel,  where  its  direct  power  is  not  felt,  which  has  restrained, 
and  still  restrains  the  gross  and  palpable  transgressions  that  de- 
graded and  defiled  mankind  previous  to  its  announcement,  and 
still  degrade  those  that  are  ignorant  of  it.  It  requires  but  the 
most  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  world  to 
prove  that  it  is  so.  Before  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
weak  and  deformed  children  were  invariably  cast  out  to  perish  in 
the  streets;  and  this  not  in  barbarous,  but  in  civilized  and  culti- 
vated lands.  What  has  arrested  this ?  Not  civilization;  for  the 
Koman  code  is  so  civilized  that  it  has  been  more  or  less  widely 
adopted  by  numerous  modern  nations.  It  was  the  restraints,  or 
the  indirect  influence  of  Christianity  alone.  In  heathen  and  in 
ancient  times,  fathers  had  absolute  power  over  their  sons,  and,  if 
possible,  still  more  over  their  daughters ;  they  might  sell  them, 
or  dismiss  them,  as  they  might  their  slaves.  In  ancient  and 
heathen  times,  a  husband's  power  over  his  wife  was  despotic;  he 
might  dismiss  her  for  the  least  offence;  he  might  have  put  her 
to  death,  and  it  would  not  have  been  murder.  In  ancient  times 
the  marriage  contract  had  not  half  its  sacredncss,  nor  a  tithe  of 


864  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

the  force  it  lias  now.  Woman  was  degraded;  lier  position  in 
society  was  lower  than  it  is  easy  to  conceive.  What  has  raised 
her  to  her  proper  and  natural  position?  Christianity.  What 
has  saved  the  son  from  the  tyranny  of  a  cruel  parent^  the  wife 
from  expulsion  or  cruelty  by  a  barbarous  husband;  and  woman 
from  degradation  everywhere?  The  restraints^  the  indirect  re- 
strictions and  influence^  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  Where,  let  me 
ask,  is  the  greatest  mental,  civil,  and  religious  freedom?  Where 
do  nations  attain  their  greatest  splendour,  and  communities  their 
highest  social  power?  Where,  also,  let  me  ask,  are  their  hospi- 
tals for  the  sick — asylums  for  the  wretched — charities  for  the 
needy?  These  were  not  known  in  heathen  lands,  or  in  ancient 
times.  Where  is  life  safest  in  our  streets  by  day,  and  property 
most  secure  by  night?  Where  are  revolutions  least  feared  or 
lea^st  likely?  Where  can  you  leave  your  children  with  the  great- 
est confidence  and  hope,  and  with  the  least  risk  of  contamina- 
tion, behind  you?  Where  are  the  laws  least  sangTunary,  rulers 
least  unjust,  magistrates  least  tyrannical,  judges  most  impartial, 
the  people  most  obedient,  the  press  most  pure?  Just  where 
there  is  the  greatest  number  of  Christians,  and  the  indirect 
lights  and  influences  of  Christianity  are  most  widely  diffused  and 
most  thoroughly  felt. 

It  has  been  one  effect  of  the  gospel  to  ^^  restrain  transgres- 
sion.'' The  very  twilight  of  Christianity  is  glorious;  and  if  its 
twilight  be  so,  how  glorious  will  be  its  noon !  how  desirable  its 
approaching  meridian  splendour!  Those  men  who  refuse  the 
gospel  are  themselves  monuments  of  its  indirect  influence.  Fa- 
milies in  which  the  Bible  is  not  read,  in  which  Grod  is  not  wor- 
shipped, are  enjoying  that  protection  under  the  overshadowing 
wings  of  that  public  peace  which  the  spread  of  the  gospel  has 
created  in  the  minds,  and  left  on  the  habits  of  mankind;  and  if 
it  be  not  saving  in  such  cases,  it  is  beyond  all  expression  sweeten- 
ing and  cementing.  Society  at  this  moment,  except  where  the 
gospel  is  its  cement,  is  a  rope  of  sand,  ready  to  fly  asunder  the 
moment  that  the  coercive,  mechanical  restraints  of  rulers  and  of" 
laws  are  withdrawn.  The  secret  of  our  countiys  safety  is  in 
our  Bible;  the  spring  of  our  countiy's  peace,  when  all  Europe 
was  an  Aceldama,  was  in  the  Bible.     The  indirect  influence  of 


THE    MISSION    OF    THE    MESSIAH.  365 

Christianity  lias  made  our  laws  so  mild — oiir  people  so  attaclied 
to  peace — onr  rulers  just,  and  our  exactors  righteous.  Its  first 
predicted  effect^  then,  is  to  '^  restrain  transgression.'^ 

The  second  predicted  effect  of  the  gospel  is  "  to  inahe  an  end 
of  sin."  Literally  translated,  the  clause  reads,  "to  seal  up  sin/^ 
and  hence  some  commentators  think  it  means  to  consummate  the 
iniquity  of  the  Jews,  and  so  to  spare  them  them  no  longer;  that 
the  crucifixion  of  the  Messiah  should  be  the  last  drop  in  their 
cup,  which  was  previously  almost  full, — the  last  weight  in  the 
scale,  which  already  was  so  heavy, — the  climax,  as  it  were,  of 
their  crimes;  and  thus,  after  having  murdered  the  prophets,  they 
were  destined  to  complete  their  depravity  by  murdering  the  pro- 
phets' Lord,  Then  God's  long-suffering  would  be  exhausted — 
his  forbearance  spent,  and  to  that  people  the  menaced  curse 
should  cleave,  consuming  to  the  time  of  the  end,  and  only  be 
lifted  away  when  they  shall  "  look  upon  him  whom  they  ha-\'e 
pierced,  and  mourn  every  family  apart."  But  this  seems  to  me 
not  the  natural  interpretation.  It  appears  much  more  natural  to 
understand  it  as  the  mission  which  should  make  an  end  of  sin  in 
the  case  of  all  believers;  that  is,  put  it  away,  finish,  or  destroy 
it.  Is  not  this  the  direct  effect  of  the  gospel  of  Christ? 
"  There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Christ  exhausted  the  curse  in  the  case  of  every  believer,  and 
shed  down  the  blessing  in  its  stead;  the  sting  of  the  curse  is  ex- 
tracted— its  havoc  is  arrested;  and  from  living  beneath  the 
curse  that  oppresses  and  irritates,  the  believer  lives  beneath  the 
outspread  wings  of  perfect  peace  and  everlasting  happiness. 
This  makes  a  vast  difference  between  the  saint  and  the  sinner. 

Let  me  suppose  two  men,  placed  in  equal  outward  calamity,  a 
believer  and  an  unbeliever,  or  to  use  plainer  phraseology,  a  man 
who  is  a  Christian,  and  one  who  is  not.  Let  the  outward  eye  look 
at  them  :  they  both  weep ;  both  feel  pain — they  both  declare  that 
they  feel  it ;  they  both  desire  to  be  delivered :  yet  between  these 
two  God's  eye  sees,  and  there  actually  is,  a  very  great  difference. 
In  the  case  of  the  one,  all  the  suffering  is  paternal  chastisement ; 
every  drop  of  the  bitter  cup  that  he  drinks  is  instinct  with  the 
sweetness  of  the  everlasting  covenant;  his  outward  suffering, 
even  when  it  is  bitterest,  is  merely  the  chalice  of  an  inward  bc- 

31* 


3G6  niOPIIETIC   STUDIES. 

nediction,  and  the  heaviest  blow  that  smites  him  only  helps  him 
more  rapidly  to  his  everlasting  and  his  blessed  home ;  all  things 
work  for  good  to  him,  because  in  his  case  Christ  has  made  an  end 
of  sin,  by  bearing  in  his  own  body  its  curse,  and  bequeathing  to 
his  people  bis  peace.  But  in  the  case  of  the  other  sufferer — in 
the  case  of  him  who  is  not  a  Christian,  all  is  penal :  he  suffers 
just  because  he  has  sinned ;  every  billow  that  rolls  over  him  has 
received  its  impulse  and  its  tone  from  Mount  Sinai ;  every  pang 
in  his  heart  is  the  rebound  of  a  broken  law;  every  stroke  that 
falls  upon  him  is  the  infliction  of  God  the  Legislator,  jealous  of 
his  glory  and  upholding  the  sanctions  of  his  law.  In  the  one 
case,  Christ  has  made  an  end  of  sin,  and,  therefore,  all  suffering 
is  paternal ;  in  the  other  case,  there  is  no  obstruction  to  the  full 
influence  of  the  curse — nothing  to  neutralize  its  virus,  or  mitigate 
its  effects.  To  the  outward  eye,  they  weep  and  suffer  alike ;  but 
in  the  sight  of  God  the  difference  is  between  the  commencement 
of  the  enjoyment  of  everlasting  heaven  and  the  commencement 
of  the  endurance  of  everlasting  hell. 

If  Christ,  then,  has  made  an  end  of  sin — that  is,  of  its  curse 
— by  being  the  sacrifice  and  atonement  for  it,  does  not  this  teach 
us  that  .we  need  no  other  atonement,  or  expiation,  or  sacrifice,  in 
order  to  be  delivered  thereby  from  the  curse  of  sin  ?  If  Christ, 
by  his  death,  has  made  an  end  of  sin  by  exhausting  its  curse, 
we  do  not  need  any  other  expiation,  or  atonement,  or  sacrifice 
whatever.  No  ecclesiastical  liquidation  of  liabilities  incurred  is 
possible  any  more :  no  mortification  of  the  flesh  can  be  an  expia- 
tion for  the  indulgence  of  its  lusts ;  no  atonement  can  be  made 
for  being  late  at  the  opera  on  Saturday  night  by  being  early  at 
the  mass  on  Sunday  morning :  a  Christian  has  no  taste  for  the 
one,  and  he  has  no  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  the  other.  In 
tears  there  is  no  expiation,  in  sufferings  there  is  no  atonement,  in  a 
martyr's  blood  there  is  no  expiatory  virtue,  Christ  has  made  an 
end  of  sin ;  and  we  need  no  priests  to  offer,  for  what  does  not 
exist,  what  is,  when  materially  precious,  morally  worthless,  nor 
sacrifices  to  be  made  for  what  is'  not.  Christ  has  finished  the 
work,  and  made  an  end  of  sin  for  ever.  ''  It  is  finished,'^  was  the 
doath-knell  of  Levi — the  joyous  sound  of  salvation. 

The  believer,  therefore,  receives  in  the  gospel  the  tidings  of  a 


THE   MISSION   OF    THE   MESSIAH.  3G7 

work  that  is  done  fur  him,  not  the  withering  demand  of  a  work 
that  is  to  be  done  b^  him.  The  call  to  a  Christian  is  not  to  make 
his  peace  with  God,  as  ignorant  persons  often  foolishly  say,  but 
to  accept  Christ  as  his  peace  with  God ;  and  thus  they  twain  that 
were  several  are  made  one  for  ever.  There  is  no  more  offering 
for  sin.  But  this  expression  of  the  prophet,  thus  descriptive  of 
the  work  of  Christ,  may  not  only  imply  that  Christ  made  an  end 
of  sin  by  being  the  atonement  for  it,  and  taking  away  its  curse ; 
but  also  that,  in  the  case  of  every  believer,  he  makes  an  end  of 
the  domination  and  power  of  sin  in  his  heart,  his  life,  and  his 
conduct.  This  he  does  by  giving  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  him.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  it  is  just  as  necessary  that  we 
should  be  delivered  from  the  domination  and  pollution  of  sin  as  that 
we  should  be  delivered  from  its  curse  and  condemnation.  We  must 
be  fitted  for  heaven  by  the  Spirit's  work  in  us,  as  truly  as  entitled 
to  heaven  by  Christ's  work  without  us,  and  his  righteousness 
upon  us.  If  there  be  announced  the  performance  of  an  oratorio, 
and  you  receive  a  ticket  of  admission  to  it,  in  that  ticket  you  have 
your  r/'()Jit  to  be  admitted ;  but  if  you  have  no  chamber  in  your 
ear  susceptible  of  the  influence  of  sweet  sounds,  that  oratorio 
would  be  a  Babel  to  you,  and  thus  in  your  case  there  would  be 
no  fitness  for  it.  You  need  not  only  the  ticket  that  admits,  but 
the  susceptihilifj/  that  qualifies  you  for  the  enjoyment.  It  is  so 
with  heaven  :  you  need  not  only  Christ's  righteousness,  or  his 
making  an  end  of  the  curse,  to  be  yova-  title  of  admission,  but 
you  need  also  the  Spirit's  influence  in  transforming  your  nature 
and  elevating  your  taste,  to  be  your  fitness.  In  other  words,  we 
believe  in  a  Trinity :  in  God  the  Father,  who  elects  us ;  in  God 
the  Son,  who  redeems  us ;  in  God  the  Spirit,  who  sanctifies  and 
fits  us  for  heaven. 

But  apart  from  this,  I  see  in  Christ's  work  not  only  the 
promised  gift  of  the  Spirit,  but  also,  in  the  very  nature  of  his 
intervention,  that  which  will  create  in  my  heart  love  for  his  holy 
law.  I  see  in  Christ  the  embodiment  of  infinite  and  disinterest- 
ed love;  I  see  in  him  the  spectacle  of  love  suff'ering,  »dyiug  for 
me;  and  this  sight  of  pardoning  love  in  Christ  Jesus  produces 
thankful  love  in  me  for  whom  that  pardon  is  procured.  It  comes 
to  pass  that  I  love  him,  just  because  I  feel  that  he  loved  me ;  and 


368  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

^'  love/'  we  are  told,  ''  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  ''  Thou  .shalt 
love/'  is  the  guarantee  that  the  whole  law  shall  be  fulfilled.  I 
love  Christ's  person,  his  precepts,  his  promises,  his  example;  and 
thus  progressive  holiness  in  my  life,  or  love  with  its  glorious 
fruitage,  grows  and  develops  itself  upon  the  basis  of  perfect  par- 
don secured  through  Christ.  There  is  planted  in  my  heart  an 
offshoot  from  the  cross,  a  living  and  expansive  principle  that, 
under  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  carries  me  on  from  grace 
to  grace,  and  from  one  degree  of  conformity  to  his  image  to 
another,  till  I  reach  the  fulness  of  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man. 
Thus  Christ,  by  his  atonement,  makes  an  end  of  the  curse  of  sin, 
and  sets  me  free  from  its  action  and  its  effects;  and  by  the  em- 
bodiment of  disinterested  love,  manifested  in  his  mission,  he 
creates  responsive  love  in  my  heart,  and  so  makes  an  end  in  me 
of  the  power  of  sin.  What  Jesus  does  in  the  case  of  the  indi- 
vidual, he  shall  one  day  accomplish  over  the  whole  world.  The 
earth  shall  emerge  from  its  last  baptismal  fire,  beautiful  as  at  first. 
Sin,  the  fever  that  racks  and  convulses  the  air,  the  sea,  and  all 
that  is  around  us,  shall  be  laid  for  ever,  and  sorrowing  nature 
cease  to  weep,  and  begin  to  rejoice.  She  shall  exchange  her 
ashen  garments  for  her  coronation  robes,  passing  under  another 
and  more  glorious  Genesis,  and  presenting  a  dwelling-place  for 
the  glorified  spirits  and  the  resurrection  bodies  of  them  that  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  Even  now,  as  the  gospel  spreads,  sin  loses  its  footing 
and  its  dominant  power  upon  the  earth ;  like  a  wounded  snake, 
its  life  is  protracted  but  in  torment. 

But  not  only  is  he  foretold  to  make  an  end  of  sin,  but  also  to 
make  ^^  reconciliation  for  iniquity.'/  What  is  implied  in  this  ? 
The  apostle  tells  us  in  the  Ej^istle  to  the  Hebrews,  that  '■^  in  all 
things  it  behooved  Christ  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that 
he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  in  things  pertain- 
ing to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people.'' 
So  also,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans — ^^  By  whom  we  have  re- 
ceived the  atonement  (j.arolXayrf^—ihQ  reconciliation)."  But  it 
may  be  justly  asked.  In  what  sense  did  Christ  make  reconcilia- 
tion ?  There  is  no  allusion  here  to  the  reconciliation  of  man  to 
God ;  there  is,  therefore,  some  sense  in  which  God  may  be  said 


THE  MISSION    OF    THE    MESSIAH  3G9 

to  be  reconciled  to  us.  In  what  sense  can  this  truly  be  said  ? 
for,  at  first,  it  seems  unnatural.  It  does  not  imply  that  God's 
hate  is  changed  into  love,  or  that  his  anger  is  changed  into  affec- 
tion, in  consequence  of  what  Christ  has  done;  much  less  is  it 
implied  that  his  purpose  to  destroy  is  dislodged  by  a  purpose  to 
save,  through  the  atonement,  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  inte- 
rested in  Christ,  and  plead  the  sacrifice  made  on  the  cross. 
This  would  be  to  pronounce  the  unchangeable  God  subject  to 
change. 

In  what  sense,  then,  can  it  be  said  that  God  is  reconciled  to 
us  ?  Plainl}^,  it  means  that  every  obstruction  is  removed  to  the 
egress  of  God's  pardoning  love  to  mankind ;  that  is,  the  law, 
which  is  the  written  exponent  of  his  holy  and  eternal  will,  is 
magnified,  and  honoured,  and  glorified,  in  Christ,  our  head ;  and, 
by  reason  of  what  Christ  has  done,  God  can  now  as  reasonably 
acquit  the  sinner  that  believes  in  Christ,  as  he  can  condemn  the 
sinner  that  does  not.  God  is,  in  Christ,  just  to  pardon.  He  can 
consistently  save  sinners.  The  justice,  holiness,  and  truth  of 
Christ,  stereotyped  in  law,  not  only  do  not  obstruct  the  descent 
of  God's  mercy  to  forgive  me,  but,  on  the  contrary,  form  them- 
selves into  a  glorious  channel  for  its  egress  -,  so  much  so,  that 
there  is  no  more  reason  why  God  should  condemn  a  sinner,  in  the 
first  Adam,  than  there  is  why  he  should  justify  and  save  a  sinner, 
in  the  second  Adam.  There  is  no  more  reason,  no  more  justice, 
in  assigning  everlasting  misery  to  any  of  those  that  fell  and  sin- 
ned in  Adam,  than  there  is  in  assigning  everlasting  heaven  to 
those  who  are  justified  and  accepted  in  Christ.  God  justly  con- 
demns all  that  are  out  of  Christ;  and  he  no  less  justly  pardons 
and  saves  all  that  are  found  in  Christ.  Hence  the  w^ords,  "  He 
is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us'^  (not  simply  merciful,  but  faith- 
ful and  Just  to  forgive  us)  "  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness."  Through  that  reconciliation  made  for  sin,  I 
can  feel  toward  God,  and  toward  his  holy  law,  and  toward  his  jus- 
tice and  his  truth,  just  as  if  I  had  never  sinned ;  I  can  think  of 
God,  of  the  denunciation  of  sin,  and  of  the  glories  of  heaven,  and 
of  the  judgment-seat  and  its  endless  retributions,  just  as  if  I  were 
perfectly  innocent,  and  had  never  sinned — with  this  additional 
peculiarity,  that  I  cherish  a  responsive  love  and  gratitude  sucli  as 


370  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

I  had  never  cherished  if  I  had  never  ilillen.     Christ  thus  died  to 
make  reconciliation  for  sin. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  prophesied  that  he  should  hriiuj  in  ever- 
lasting rirjliteousness.  Making  reconciliation  bj  his  death,  is 
Christ's  passive  work ;  bringing  in  everlasting  righteousness  by 
his  obedience,  is  Christ's  active  work.  In  the  one — that  is,  in 
his  death,  and  sacrifices,  and  making  reconciliation — he  suffered 
all  that  man  had  incurred  as  a  sinner ;  in  his  active  righteous- 
ness, or  obedience  to  the  law,  he  did  all  that  man  owed  to  God 
as  a  creature.  I  feel  that  I  am  a  sinner,  and  that  sin  is  the 
transgression  of  the  law :  I  look  to  what  he  suffered,  that  that  sin 
may  not  be  my  ruin.  I  feel  also  I  owe  obedience  to  a  perfect  law, 
which  still  says,  "  Thou  shalt :'"  I  look  to  Christ,  my  head,  iu 
whom  and  by  whom  that  law  was  obeyed  for  me,  and  I  feel  that 
I  can  be  justified.  By  his  reconciliation  for  sin,  he  puts  away 
sin,  so  that  its  curse,  the  curse  of  a  broken  law,  shall  never  light 
upon  me.  By  his  righteousness,  or  active  obedience,  he  clothes 
me  with  a  righteousness  that  answers  all  the  demands  of  a  law 
that  exacts  perfect  obedience  of  me. '  So  that  I  can  stand  in  God's 
sight,  and  feel  that  I  not  only  deserve  no  curse,  but  that,  in 
Christ,  I  deserve  everlasting  joy ;  for  the  Messiah,  the  Prince,  my 
Head  and  Substitute,  has  obeyed  the  law  in  my  room  and  stead. 
We  can  never  appreciate  the  gospel  in  all  its  fulness,  or  be  saved 
from  the  popular  and  predominant  errors  of  the  day,  till  we  feel 
this  in  its  completeness,  that  by  Christ's  shed  blood  we  are  com- 
pletely delivered  from  all  the  penal  consequences  of  sin,  and  there- 
fore need  no  other  expiation,  were  it  possible ;  and  by  Christ's 
active  obedience,  or  righteousness,  we  are  entitled  to  all  the  re- 
wards that  Adam  would  have  inherited,  and  more,  if  he  had  per- 
fectly obeyed,  and  therefore  need  no  additional  merits.  What  a 
glorious  Saviour  is  this  !  What  a  complete  salvation  is  here ! 
He  restrains  transgression  in  the  mass  of  mankind !  he  puts  an 
end  to  sin,  by  putting  an  end  to  its  curse ;  he  makes  reconcilia- 
tion for  sin,  by  bearing  our  chastisement  upon  him ;  and  he  brings 
in  everlasting  righteousness,  that  makes  us  altogether  spotless  be-' 
fore  God  :  so  that,  looking  by  faith  to  this  greater  than  paschal 
Lamb ;  beholding  this  sacrifice,  so  transcending  the  victims  of 
Levi ;  washed  in  this  blood,  which  has  virtues  the  blood  of  bulls 


THE   MISSION    OF   THE   MESSIAH.  371 

and  goats  and  heifers  made  no  claim  to ;  arrayed  in  this  right- 
eousness, in  which  Omniscience  can  see  no  stain,  we  can  lay 
aside  all  our  sad  recollections  and  sorrowful  forebodings,  and  ask, 
in  triumphant  tones,  "  ^Yho  shall  lay  any  thing  to  my  charge  ? 
It  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  shall  condemn  me?  It  is  Christ 
that  died — yea,  rather,  who  is  risen  again.  For  I  am  persuaded 
that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  me  from 
the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."  In  Christ 
I  am  complete.  In  his  righteousness  I  am  perfect  before  God. 
I  shall  stand  in  heaven,  for  ever  tasting  all  the  blessedness,  and 
Christ  for  ever  receiving  all  the  glory  of  it.  Not  one  thread  in 
that  perfect  robe  is  mine ;  and  yet  not  one  blessing  it  entitles  to 
shall  be  withheld  from  me.  My  song  shall  be  the  expression  of 
my  enjoyment  of  all  the  results,  and  the  giving  of  all  the  glory 
unto  him  to  whom  alone  it  is  due. 

The  next  end  of  Christ's  mission  is  here  foretold  to  be  to  seal 
up  the  vision  and  the  prophecy.  This  plainly  means  to  illustrate 
in  his  person  the  glories  of  ancient  prophecies ;  to  be  in  himself  a 
perfect  embodiment  of  all  those  predictions  contained  in  the  Bible, 
from  the  first  in  Genesis  to  the  last  in  Malachi,  which  relate  to 
the  Messiah,  so  that  in  him  shall  meet  and  mingle  Moses,  Isaiah, 
David,  and  all  the  prophets.  We  find  him  explaining  the  fulfill- 
ment of  this  very  clause,  though  he  does  not  allude  to  it  by  name, 
when  he  said  to  his  disciples,  (Luke  xxiv.  26,  27,)  "  Ought  not 
Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ? 
And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded  unto 
them  in  all  the  scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself."  And 
he  again  says  to  them,  (ver.  44,)  "  These  are  the  words  which  I 
spnke  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be 
fulfilled,  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  pro- 
phets, and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me."  Plainly,  therefore, 
as  I  might  demonstrate  at  length,  all  that  was  predicted  respect- 
ing the  person,  work,  sufferings,  trials,  achievements,  and  glory, 
of  the  Messiah,  were,  and  are,  and  will  yet  fully  be,  realized  in 
him.     When  Christ  cried  upon  the  cross,  "It  is  finished/'  Moses 


372  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

and  the  propliets,  and  the  Psalms,  gathered  round  him,  and  added 
their  united  and  their  solemn  Amen.  In  whom  was  the  jDrophecy 
fulfilled,  "  The  woman's  seed  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head  ?'^ 
In  Christ.  In  whom  was  the  prophecy  fulfilled,  '^  The  sceptre 
shall  not  depart  from  Judah  till  Shiloh  come  ?"  In  Christ.  In 
whom  was  the  prophecy  fulfilled,  "  His  name  shall  be  called  Won- 
derful, the  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God,  the  Father  of  the  age  to 
come,  the  Prince  of  peace  ?'^  In  Christ.  Was  not  the  biography 
of  Christ  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  made  actual  ?  Was  not 
Christ  the  true  crucifix  of  which  it  is  the  description  ?  Who  is 
the  prophet  whom  Moses  said  Grod  would  raise  up  unto  himself, 
and  whom  the  people  should  hear  ?  Christ  Jesus,  as  stated  by 
the  apostle  in  his  address,  given  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  His 
life,  his  death,  his  birthplace,  the  time  of  his  birth,  his  suf- 
ferings, his  joys,  the  nature  and  peculiarities  of  his  death,  his 
burial,  his  resurrection,  his  coming  glory,  were  all  predicted, 
and  all  find  their  perfect  embodiment  in  him.  He  alone  seals 
up  the  vision,  and  terminates  in  himself  the  prophecies  that 
relate  to  him. 

To  anoint  the  most  Holy  is  the  last  clause  of  this  prophecy. 
Who  is  this  most  Holy  ?  The  word  is  in  the  masculine  gender, 
and  means,  properly,  ^^  the  most  Holy  One.^'  But  who  is  the 
most  Holy  One  ?  We  are  told  in  the  Gospels  over  and  over  again  : 
*'  I  know  thee,'^  said  the  unclean  spirits,  "  thou  art  the  Holy  One 
of  God.''  .  The  apostle  said  to  the  Jews,  ''  Ye  denied  the  Holy 
One."  Paul  said  to  the  Hebrews,  '■'■  Such  a  high-priest  became 
us,  who  is  holy.''  In  the  epistle  to  the  church  at  Philadelphia 
we  read :  '^  These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy."  The  ^'Holy 
One,"  therefore,  was  Christ  Jesus.  What  is  meant  by  '■'■  anoint- 
ing" him  ?  We  have  this  explained  by  referring  to  the  other 
prophecies  relating  to  him.  In  Isaiah  Ixi.  we  read  :  "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me ;  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me 
to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek ;  he  hatb  sent  me  to  bind 
up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives."  We. 
find  our  Lord  showing  that  he  is  himself  the  Anointed  Holy  One, 
when  he  takes  the  very  prophecy  of  Isaiah  (Luke  iv.  11)  and  ap- 
plies it  to  himself:  ^^The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because 


THE    MISSION   OF    THE   MESSIAH.  373 

he  liath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor :  he  hath 
sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty 
them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. 
And  he  closed  the  book,  and  gave  it  to  the  minister,  and  sat  down. 
And  the  eyes  of  all  them  that  were  in  the  synagogue  were  fast- 
ened on  him.  And  he  began  to  say,  This  day  is  this  scripture 
fulfilled  in  your  ears." 

We  have  the  very  same  prediction  in  its  echo  in  Heb.  i.  8  : 
^^  But  unto  the  Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and 
ever :  a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom. 
Thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and  hated  iniquity;  therefore  God, 
even  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
thy  fellows."  When  we  go  back  to  the  Levitical  economy,  we 
find  all  the  priests  were  anointed  and  consecrated  to  their  sacred 
functions  by  a  holy  oil,  which  it  was  blasphemy  to  imitate.  The 
prediction,  therefore,  plainly  refers  to  the  Messiah,  who,  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  is  said  to  be  a  "  great  High-Priest,  who 
was  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  and  who  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  us."  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the  word 
Messiah  means  "  the  Anointed  One."  Hence  Andrew  said  to 
Peter,  ^'  We  have  found  the  Messias,  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, 0  XptffToq," — the  Anointed  one.  You  have  heard  of  the 
chrism  used  in  Roman  Catholic  churches;  it  means  anointing, 
and  is  derived  from,  the  same  root  as  the  word  Christ,  which 
means  "anointed."  When,  then,  Andrew  says  to  Peter,  "We 
have  found  the  Messias,  which  is,  being  interpreted,  the  Christ," 
he  intimated  that  the  prediction  of  Daniel  is  fulfilled;  as 
if  he  had  said :  "  He  who  was  to  come  to  make  an  end  of  sin, 
to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  is  the  anointed  high- 
priest  foretold  by  Daniel,  is  now  come,  and  we  have  found 
him." 

I  think,  now,  that  this  contrast  between  the  facts  as  fulfilled 
and  narrated  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  and  these  predic- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament,  clearly  and  irrefragably  prove  that 
all  these  find  their  embodiment  and  perfect  realization  in  the 
"  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world."     Show 

32 


374  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

me  any  one,  in  all  the  history  of  the  past,  since  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  when  Daniel  wrote  this,  downward  to  the 
year  in  which  we  now  live,  in  whom  tliis  prediction  has  been,  or 
can  be  demonstrated  to  be  completely,  or  even  partially,  realized. 
Has  any  one,  in  all  that  period  of  two  thousand  years  and  up- 
ward, restrained  transgressions  througliout  the  world  by  his  doc- 
trine and  his  name  ?  Has  any  one  "  made  an  end  of  sin,"  in  any 
sense,  or  as  I  have  explained  to  you?  Has  any  one  made  a 
^'  reconciliation  for  sin,'^  "  brought  in  everlasting  righteousness," 
^'  sealed  up"  all  the  predictions  relating  to  himself,  and  been 
anointed  the  ''  Holy  One  of  God  ?"  None  but  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
All  the  prophets  point  to  Jesus ;  all  the  Psalms  celebrate  him ;  he 
is  the  Key  that  unlocks  them  all ;  and  in  him  all  is  found  to  be 
harmony,  order,  consistency,  and  truth.  I  have  no  more  doubt 
that  Christ  is  the  Messiah,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  our  only 
Sacrifice,  our  only  Priest,  and  Prophet,  and  Eternal  King,  than  I 
have  that  there  is  a  sun  in  the  firmament,  or  tides  in  the  ocean. 
It  is  the  plainest  of  all  facts,  it  is  the  clearest  of  all  truths,  it  is 
the  deepest  of  all  convictions.  We  know  in  whom  we  have  be- 
lieved, and  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  we  have  committed  to  him 
against  that  day. 

I  ask  now,  in  conclusion,  have  you,  my  dear  friends,  any  per- 
sonal interest  in  this  ?  Is  this  a  theory  demonstrated  before  you, 
or  good  news  welcome  to  your  hearts  ?  Is  Christianity  any  thing 
to  you  beyond  a  topic  for  the  preacher's  sermon,  or  a  source  for 
the  supply  of  names  for  your  children,  or  a  respectable  profession 
in  society?  Can  you  say  from  those  seats,  "  0  Lord,  I  bless  and 
praise  thee,  that  thou  didst  make  reconciliation  for  sin,  that  thou 
hast  brought  in  everlasting  righteousness,  that  thou  art  the 
anointed  High-Priest  that  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
me ; — I  bless  thee,  I  praise  thee ; — my  hopes  of  heaven,  my  pros- 
pects of  joy,  all  cluster  about  thy  cross,  centre  in  thy  person,  and 
come  from  thy  deep  love ; — thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable 
gift,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?"  Very  awful  is  that  man's  respon- 
sibility who  hears  these  truths  and  despises  them — who  knows 
these  truths  and  neglects  them.  Your  greatest  condemnation  will 
not  be  a  broken  law,  but  a  neglected  gospel,  a  rejected  Saviour. 


THE    MISSION   OF    THE   MESSIAH.  375 

There  is  no  reasou  in  tlio  lieiglit  or  in  tlie  depth,  in  the  law  or  in 
the  gospel,  why  a  single  soul  in  this  assembly  should  perish  for 
ever.  God  waits  to  welcome  you;  Christ  waits  to  receive  you; 
the  Spirit  waits  to  sanctify  you :  and  it  will  be  the  corrodinrr  re- 
collection of  the  lost  in  misery,  '^  did  it  all  myself,  and  nobody 
did  It  for  me;''  as  it  will  be  the  joyous  impression  and  never- 
ceasing  song  of  the  redeemed  in  glory,  "^Yo  did  none  of  it; 
Christ  did  it  all  from  first  to  last." 


376 


LECTURE  XXVL 


SACRED    ARITHMETIC. 


"  Seventy  weeks  ax'C  cleterminecl  upon  thy  people  and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to 
finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation 
for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the  vision 
and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most  Holy." — Daniel  is.  24. 

I  HAVE  addressed  you  on  the  grand  characteristic  of  the  death 
of  Jesus.  I  showed  you  in  two  successive  discourses,  that  the 
death  of  Jesus — his  being  "  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself" — was 
expiatory,  or  atoning.  I  showed  that  it  was  the  evidence  of  a 
creature  that  he  died,  and  the  evidence  of  a  God  that  he  died  a 
substitute  for  us ;  that  it  was  his  shame  that  he  suffered,  but  it 
was  his  glory  that  he  satisfied ;  and  that  because  the  Messiah  was 
cut  off,  and  cut  off  for  us,  we  have  redemjDtion  through  his  blood, 
even  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  I  then  showed  you,  last  Lord's-day 
evening,  the  meaning  of  that  most  beautiful  summary  of  the  great 
results  of  the  death  of  Jesus  embodied  in  Dan.  ix.  24,  (the  epi- 
tome of  which  was  all  that  I  was  able  to  give  you,) — namely, 
that  Christ  should  '^finish  the  transgression,  make  an  end  of  sins, 
make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness, 
seal  up  the  vision  and  the  prophecy,  and  anoint  the  most  Holy." 
What  remains  is  indicated  in  the  passage  I  have  read  this  even- 
ing. It  is  not  the  most  interesting,  because  it  is  the  most  arith- 
metical; yet  it  is  the  most  conclusive  evidence  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  who  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  died  upon  the  cross,  rose 
again  for  our  justification,  lives  and  reigns  our  Prince  and  Inter- 
cessor, is  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  fathers,  and  that  Daniel 
here  clearly  and  demonstrably  predicted  him. 

When  a  prophet  gives  us  dates  and  numbers,  if  his  prophecy 
be  false,  it  is  the  easiest  possible  of  detection ;  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  his  prophecy  be  true,  it  is  easily  capable  of  proof.     Daniel 


SACRED   ARITHMETIC.  377 

has  given  us  numbers ;  lie  has  not  only  given  us  those  grand 
characteristic  features  of  the  life  and  death  of  Christ  which 
demonstrably  prove  that  he  is  the  Messiah,  (for  in  none  before 
him,  and  in  none  since  have  these  characteristic  features  been 
actualized,)  but  he  has  also  given  us  an  exact  calculation  of  the 
time  that  should  intervene  between  a  given  terminus  a  quo,  or 
commencing  period,  and  a  given  terminus  ad  quod,  or  a  closing 
period.  The  prophet  says  that  between  these,  seventy  weeks 
should  intervene.  His  words  are  distinct  and  definite.  Let  us 
then  investigate  the  proofs  of  this  exact  prophecy,  and  see  if  it 
has  been  fulfilled,  as  generally  supposed,  in  the  age,  appearance, 
life,  and  death  of  the  Son  of  Grod. 

I  admit  that  there  have  been  disputes  whether  the  close  of  the 
seventy  weeks  refers  to  the  time  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  or  the 
manifestation  of  Christ,  or  the  death  of  Christ,  or  the  extinction 
of  the  Jewish  polity;  for  all  these  are  more  or  less  alluded  to. 
But  one  fact  will  strike  you  as  incontestible — that  if  we  take  the 
longest  period  to  which  the  seventy  weeks  can  be  extended,  or 
the  shortest  period  within  which  they  can  have  expired,  it  must 
be  equally  certain,  that  if  the  Messiah,  the  Prince  who  was  to 
make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  bring  in  everlasting  righte- 
ousness, has  not  come,  the  prophecy  is  null,  and  no  Messiah, 
according  to  its  terms,  can  be  expected.  Either  the  Jews  arc 
unbelievers,  or  Christians  are  deceived.  The  shorter  period  with- 
in which  the  time  can  expire,  minus  the  last  week,  which  occurs 
after  the  appearance  of  Christ,  may  be — nay,  I  believe  must  be 
— the  manifestation  of  Christ  as  a  preacher,  as  the  anointed  pro- 
phet, as  I  shall  show  you  by-and-by.  The  remotest  moment  at 
which  the  seventy  weeks  can  possibly  be  said  to  expire,  must  be 
the  overthrow  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  which  I 
believe  is  not  the  time  referred  to.  If  the  Messiah  expected  by 
the  Jew,  predicted  by  Daniel,  delineated  so  distinctly  by  the 
sacred  pen,  has  not  come  within  these  extreme  periods,  these 
ultimate  limits,  then  Daniel  predicted  what  was  false,  and  one  of 
tbe  most  striking  pillars  of  the  truth  of  the  inspiration  of  Daniel, 
and  of  the  fact  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  is  swept  from  be- 
neath the  fabric  of  Christianity. 

That  the  Christ  is  actually  come,  and  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  I 

32* 


378  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

showed  you  miglit  be  proved  from  the  identity  of  his  character 
with  the  features  here  given.  I  have  often  thought  that  wheD 
Andrew  said  to  Peter,  "We  have  found  the  Messias,  which  is, 
being  interpreted,  the  Christ,"  he  had  this  very  passage  of  Daniel 
before  him.  ^^Here  is  the  Messiah,'^  (as  if  he  had  said,)  "the 
Prince,  the  Anointed  One.  Here''  (said  Andrew)  "  is  the  fulfil- 
ment of  Daniel's  prophecy;  we  have  found  the  Messiah^  which  is^ 
being  interpreted  in  our  Greek  tongue,  the  Christ," — in  English, 
the  Anointed  One.  Therefore  it  was  that  Andrew's  speech  was 
the  echo  of  Daniel's  prophecy ;  and  God  was  showing  in  his  bio- 
graphy what  he  had  inspired  in  Daniel's  prophecy.  I  may  add, 
too,  as  an  interesting  collateral  fact,  that  almost  all  the  Jews 
were  in  expectation  that  the  Messiah  would  appear  about  1850 
year  ago ;  and  even  some  heathen  writers  allude  to  the  prevalence 
of  such  a  rumour  and  belief  among  the  Jews;  and  add,  that 
they  calculated  that  periods  of  prophecy  expired  about  that  time. 
AYe  have  the  remains  of  Jewish  testimonies,  that  just  about  the 
time  that  Christ  came,  they  were  expecting  that  the  Messiah 
would  come ;  and  you  will  find  that,  though  they  rejected  Christ, 
they  were  so  full  of  the  expectancy  of  the  Messiah,  that  pre- 
tended Messiahs  were  constantly  appearing,  professing  to  be  such, 
and  were  often  followed  by  crowds  of  temporary  adherents.  I 
mention  this  to  show  the  all  but  universal  belief  that  great 
chronological  epochs  had  then  expired,  and  that  in  consequence 
of  this  and  from  the  knowledge  of  it,  the  great  heart  of  Judaism 
was  big  with  exj^ectancy  of  a  glorious  and  speedy  deliverer. 
Many  pretenders  to  the  Messiahship  were  no  disproof  of  the 
claims  of  Jesus ;  just  as  many  pseudo-gospels  are  no  disproof  of 
the  truth  and  authenticity  of  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  John 
The  arithmetical  calculations  on  which  I  must  now  enter  may  in 
one  sense  be  thought  dry  and  uninteresting  as  elements  of  a 
popular  address,  yet  they  are  possessed  of  great  importance.  If 
the  Spirit  of  God  thought  it  was  useful  to  direct  Daniel  thus  to 
write,  it  is  unworthy  of  us  to  say  it  is  too  dry  for  the  minister  to 
preach,  and  too  dull  for  the  hearer  to  investigate.  It  is  not  sun- 
shine, but  truth  that  we  are  to  seek  after.  My  dear  friends,  what- 
ever God  has  written^  man  should  read;  whatever  God  has  thought 
proper  to  communicate,  man  is  not  only  warranted,  but  commanded 


SACPvED   ARITrniETIC.  379 

to  investigate,  and  authorized  to  expect  to  understand.  But 
it  is  very  interesting  to  know,  and  truly  exemplary  for  us,  that 
while  Daniel  is  giving  these  dry  technical  numbers — the  seven 
weeks,  and  sixty-two  weeks,  and  one  week,  or  the  seventy  weeks 
so  constantly  referred  to — he  does  not  do  so  without  embodying  in 
the  very  heart  of  arithmetic  what  is  so  precious,  and  to  ministers 
so  valuable  a  precedent,  one  of  the  clearest  portraits  of  the 
atonement  of  our  Lord  and  its  glorious  effects,  probably,  contained 
in  the  whole  Scriptures  of  truth;  so  clear,  that  if  you  did  not 
know  that  it  was  written  in  Daniel,  and  were  to  hear  me  read  it  for 
the  first  time,  that  Christ  as  your  reconciliation  for  sin,  made  an 
end  of  sin,  and  brought  in  everlasting  righteousness,  you  would  say, 
^^  These  must  be  the  words  of  Paul,  Peter,  or  John;"  not  a  pro- 
phecy, but  a  record,  or  inspired  description  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
The  words  of  the  prophet  are,  "  Seventy  weeks  are  determined." 
Now,  do  these  weeks  mean  literal  weeks,  or  are  they  s3^mbolical 
weeks  ?  Are  they  strictly  literal,  or  what  has  been  called  pro- 
phetic weeks?  If  the  decision  rested  on  mere  conjecture,  the 
prophecy  would  be  so  far  comparatively  inexplicable ;  but  you 
will  find  that  it  was  a  frequent,  almost  universal  habit  of  the 
ancient  penmen  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  in  certain 
descriptions,  to  speak  of  years  under  the  symbol  of  days.  For 
instance,  so  early  as  in  G-enesis  we  find  Moses  thus  describing 
the  ages  of  the  patriarchs :  "All  the  dai/s  that  Adam  lived  were 
nine  hundred  and  thirty  7/ears.^'  In  Leviticus  xxv.  8,  we  read  : 
"And  thou  shalt  number  seven  Sabbaths  of  years  unto  thee, 
seven  times  seven  years."  The  Jubilee  occurred  at  the  end  of 
forty-nine  years.  Seven  times  seven  makes  forty-nine.  There- 
fore seven  weeks  in  prophetic  language,  in  Jewish  reckoning, 
mean,  not  seven  literal,  but  seven  prophetic  weeks,  or  seven  times 
seven  prophetic  days,  that  is,  forty-nine  literal  years,  at  the  end 
of  which,  as  we  know,  the  jubilee  always  occurred.  So  again, 
in  Genesis,  (chap.  xxix.  27,)  as  if  to  confirm  the  justness  of  this 
interpretation,  we  read  these  words  :  "  Fulfil  her  week,  and  we 
will  give  thee  this  also,  for  the  service  which  thou  shalt  serve 
with  me  yet  seven  other  years" — the  week  here  being  the  symbol, 
or  the  equivalent  of  seven  years.  Another  very  remarkable 
passage  confirmatory  of  this  interpretation  is  contained  in  Ezekiel 


380  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

iv.  6,  where  we  liave  these  words  :  "And  when  thou  hast  accom- 
plished them,  lie  again  on  thy  right  side,  and  thou  shalt  bear  the 
iniquity  of  the  house  of  Judah  forty  days :" — now  that  is  the 
simple  statement;  then  there  is  added,  "I  have  appointed  thee 
each  day  for  a  year,'' — that  is,  forty  years  was  the  actual  period 
symbolized  under  the  prophetic  language  of  forty  days.  It  is 
plain,  therefore,  that  it  is  not  by  rash  conjecture  that  I  interpret 
the  seventy  weeks  as  meaning  seventy  weeks  of  years,  but  it  is 
upon  the  basis  of  God's  authority.  He  gives  us  the  precedent  of 
accepting  in  prophetic  interpretation  the  day  for  the  year.  Be- 
sides, if  the  period  of  Daniel  were  seventy  literal  weeks,  there 
would  be  nothing  to  correspond  with  its  termination.  I  do  not 
say  this  alone  is  a  conclusive  argument :  I  merely  state  it  as  con- 
firmatory of  what  I  have  advanced.  It  may  be  shown  to  be 
historically  impossible  that  seventy  literal  weeks  from  any  one 
period  here  indicated  could  end  in  the  advent  of  any  one  that 
could  by  possibility  be  interpreted  to  be  the  Messiah.  I  there- 
fore conclude,  I  think  justly,  that  the  seventy  weeks  of  Daniel 
are  seventy  weeks  of  years,  each  day  being  taken  for  a  year, 
seven  prophetic  days  in  a  prophetic  week  make  seven  literal  years. 
Seventy  prophetic  weeks,  therefore,  will  be  seventy  times  seven 
prophetic  days,  or  literal  years — i.  e.  490  years.  The  prediction, 
therefore,  is  expressed,  that  from  some  given  period,  or  as  I  have 
called  it,  a  terminus  a  quo,  to  another  fixed  period,  the  terminus 
ad  quod,  or  to  the  Messiah's  manifestation  and  confirming  of  the 
covenant,  will  be  490  years. 

But  you  will  notice  in  proceeding,  that  the  seventy  weeks,  or  490 
years,  are  divided  by  the  prophet  into  three  periods,  in  each  period 
of  which  some  one  great  transaction  is  to  take  place.  Inverse  25, 
we  read,  "  Know,  therefore,  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the  com- 
mandment to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  Messiah  the 
Prince  shall  be  seven  weeks,"  [then]  "  and  'three  score  and  two 
weeks:"  [these  being  sections  of  one  period  of  seventy  weeks, 
and  forming  together  sixty-nine  weeks.  ]  "  And  the  street  shall 
be  built  again,  and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times.  "  Then, 
"And  after  three  score  and  two  weeks"  [starting  from  the  termi- 
nation of  the  first  seven  weeks]  "  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off. "  Then, 
for  one  week  additional  to  the  sixty-nine  he   shall  confirm  the 


SACRED  ARITHMETIC.  381 

covenant.  The  whole  period,  then,  is  divided  into  three  great 
sections ;  that  is,  the  whole  seventy  weeks  is  divided  into  seven 
weeks,  sixty-two  weeks,  and  one  week,  which  three  numbers 
amount  to  seventy  weeks.  In  the  first  seven  weeks,  the  city  was  to 
be  built;  at  the  end  of  the  next  division,  or  sixty-two  weeks,  the 
Messiah  was  to  be  manifested,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  last  week  he 
was  to  be  cut  off,  and  during  the  remainder  of  it  to  confirm  the  cove- 
nant, while  in  the  midst  of  the  same  week  he  was  to  cause  the  sacri- 
fice to  cease.  In  the  first  seven  weeks  the  city  was  to  be  built,  in 
the  sixty-two  weeks  the  Messiah  was  to  be  manifested,  in  the  middle 
of  the  remaining  week  the  Messiah  was  to  be  cut  off.  The  seven 
weeks  are  equal  to  49  years,  the  sixty-two  weeks  are  equal  to  434 
years,  and  the  one  week  is  equal  to  seven  years,  making  a  total 
of  490  years,  which  I  have  already  specified.  We  have  thus  then 
all  the  details  of  this  question  before  us.  The  first  difiiculty  which 
occurs,  if  it  be  a  difficulty,  which  I  scarcely  think,  though  there 
has  been  dispute  about  it,  is,  what  is  the  commencing  epoch  of  the 
seventy  weeks  ?  The  words  employed  are,  "  Know  therefore,  and 
understand,  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to 
restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince  shall 
be  seven  weeks,  and  three  score  and  two  weeks  :''  that  is,  the  two 
put  together,  forty-nine  years  and  434  years ;  these  two  periods 
having  elapsed,  then  the  Messiah  the  Prince  should  be  manifested. 
I  pass  by  much,  after  which,  as  we  shall  subsequently  see,  was  to 
occur  m  Jerusalem  the  overspreading  of  the  abomination,  the  city 
and  the  sanctuary  with  a  flood. 

Let  me  then  look  at  the  first  period  of  seven  week,  i.  e.  forty- 
nine  years,  of  the  three  into  which  the  seventy  weeks  or  490  years 
are  divided.  The  commencing  period  is  from  the  going  forth  of 
the  commandment  to  build  Jerusalem.  When  was  this  command- 
ment given  ?  There  have  been  but  four  great  commands  or  edicts 
that  have  respectively  been  supposed  to  be  the  commencing  epoch. 
There  are  but  four,  I  say,  that  it  is  possible  to  suppose,  or  tliat 
have  been  supposed  to  have  been  the  commencing  epoch.  The 
first  was  by  Cyrus,  during  the  first  year  of  his  reign  in  Babylon, 
at  the  end  of  the  seventy  years'  captivity,  as  recorded  in  Ezra  i. 
"  Now  in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  the  word  of 
the  Lord  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  might  be  fulfilled,  the  Lord 


382  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia^  that  he  made  a  pro- 
clamation throughout  all  his  kingdom,  and  put  it  also  in  writing, 
saying,  Thus  saith  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  the  Lord  God  of  heaven 
hath  given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth ;  and  he  hath  charged 
me  to  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah.  Who 
is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people  ?  his  God  be  with  him,  and 
let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  Judah,  and  build  the  house 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  (he  is  the  God,)  which  is  in  Jerusalem. 
And  whosoever  remaineth  in  any  place  where  he  sojourneth,  let 
the  men  of  his  place  help  him  with  silver,  and  with  gold,  and  with 
goods,  and  with  beasts,  beside  the  freewill  offering  for  the  house 
of  God  that  is  in  Jerusalem.  Then  rose  up  the  chief  of  the  fathers 
of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and  the  priests,  and  the  Levites,  with  all 
them  whose  spirit  God  had  raised,  to  go  up  to  build  the  house  of 
the  Lord  which  is  in  Jerusalem.  And  all  they  that  were  about 
them  strengthened  their  hands  with  vessels  of  silver,  with  gold, 
with  goods,  and  with  beasts,  and  with  precious  things,  beside  all 
that  was  willingly  offered.  Also  Cyrus  the  king  brought  forth 
the  vessels  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
had  brought  forth  out  of  Jerusalem,  and  had  put  them  in  the 
house  of  his  gods ;  even  those  did  Cyrus  king  of  Persia  bring 
forth  by  the  hand  of  Mithredath  the  treasurer,  and  numbered 
them  unto  Sheshbazzar,  the  prince  of  Judah.  And  this  is  the 
number  of  them  :  thirty  chargers  of  gold,  a  thousand  chargers 
of  silver,  nine  and  twenty  knives,  thirty  basins  of  gold,  silver 
basins  of  a  second  sort  four  hundred  and  ten,  and  other  vessels  a 
thousand.  All  the  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver  were  five  thousand 
and  four  hundred.  All  these  did  Sheshbazzar  bring  up  with  them 
of  the  captivity  that  were  brought  up  from  Babylon  unto  Jeru- 
salem.'' On  reading  the  whole  of  this  chapter  carefully,  you  will 
perceive  that  this  commission  is  to  rebuild  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 
The  second  command  is  the  edict  issued  by  Darius,  recorded 
in  the  6th  chapter  of  Ezra,  which  it  is  important  to  read : 
■ — "  Then  Darius  the  king  made  a  decree,  and  search  was  made 
in  the  house  of  the  rolls,  where  the  treasures  were  laid  up  in 
Babylon.  And  there  was  found  at  Achmetha,  in  the  jmlace 
that  is  in  the  province  of  the  Medes,  a  roll,  and  tlierein  was 
a  record  thus  written,     In  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  the  king,  the 


SACRED  ARITHMETIC.  383 

same  Cyrus  the  king  made  a  decree  concerning  the  house  of 
Grod  at  Jerusalem,  Let  the  house  be  builded,  the  place  where 
they  offered  sacrifices,  and  let  the  foundations  thereof  be  strongly 
laid ;  the  height  thereof  three  score  cubits,  and  the  breadth 
thereof  three  score  cubits :  with  three  rows  of  great  stones,  and 
a  ix)w  of  new  timber :  and  let  the  expenses  be  given  out  of  the 
king's  house :  and  also  let  the  golden  and  silver  vessels  of  the 
house  of  Grod,  which  Nebuchadnezzar  took  forth  out  of  the 
temple  which  is  at  Jerusalem,  and  brought  into  Babylon,  be 
restored,  and  brought  again  unto  the  temple  which  is  at  Jeru- 
salem, every  one  to  his  place,  and  place  them  in  the  house  of 
God.  Now  therefore,  Tatnai,  governor  beyond  the  river,  Shethar- 
boznai,  and  your  companions  the  Apharsachites,  which  are  be- 
yond the  river,  be  ye  far  from  thence :  let  the  work  of  this 
house  of  God  alone ;  let  the  governor  of  the  Jews  and  the  elders 
of  the  Jews  build  this  house  of  God  in  his  place.  Moreover 
I  make  a  decree  what  ye  shall  do  to  the  elders  of  these  Jews 
for  the  building  of  his  house  of  God :  that  of  the  king's  goods, 
even  of  the  tribute  beyond  the  river,  forthwith  expenses  be 
given  unto  these  men,  that  they  be  not  hindered.  And  that 
which  they  have  need  of,  both  young  bullocks,  and  rams,  and 
lambs,  for  the  burnt  offerings  of  the  God  of  heaven,  wheat,  salt, 
wine,  and  oil,  according  to  the  appointment  of  the  priests  which 
are  at  Jerusalem,  let  it  be  given  them  day  by  day  without  fail : 
that  they  may  offer  sacrifices  of  sweet  savours  unto  the  God  of 
heaven,  and  pray  for  the  life  of  the  king,  and  of  his  sons.  Also 
I  have  made  a  decree,  that  whosoever  shall  alter  this  word, 
let  timber  be  pulled  down  from  his  house,  and  being  set  up,  let 
him  be  hanged  thereon;  and  let  his  house  be  made  a  dunghill  for 
this.  And  the  God  that  hath  caused  his  name  to  dwell  there 
destroy  all  kings  and  people,  that  shall  put  their  hand  to  alter  and 
to  destroy  this  house  of  God  which  is  at  Jerusalem.  I  Darius 
have  made  a  decree ;  let  it  be  done  with  speed.  Then  Tatnai, 
governor  on  this  side  the  river,  Shethar-boznai,  and  their  compa- 
nions, according  to  that  which  Darius  the  king  had  sent,  so  they 
did  speedily.  And  the  elders  of  the  Jews  builded,  and  they  pros- 
pered through  the  prophesying  of  Haggai  the  prophet  and  Zechariah 
the  son  of  Iddo.     And  they  builded,  and  finished  it,  according  to 


384  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

the  commandement  of  the  Grod  of  Israel,  and  according  to  tLe 
commandment  of  Cyrus,  and  Darius,  and  Artaxerxes  king  of 
Persia.  And  this  house  was  finished  on  the  third  day  of  the 
month  Adar  ,  which  was  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Darius 
the  king,  and  the  children  of  Israel,  the  priests,  and  the  Levites, 
and  the  rest  of  the  children  of  the  captivity,  kept  the  dedication 
of  this  house  of  God  with  joy,  and  offered  at  the  dedication  of  this 
house  of  God  an  hundred  bullocks,  two  hundred  rams,  four  hun- 
dred lambs ;  and  for  a  sin  offering  for  all  Israel,  twelve  he-goats, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  And  they  set  the 
priests  in  their  divisions,  and  the  Levites  in  their  courses,  for  the 
service  of  God,  which  is  at  Jerusalem;  at  it  is  written  in  the  book 
of  Moses.  And  the  children  of  the  captivity  kept  the  passover 
upon  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month.  For  the  priests  and 
the  Levites  were  purified  together,  all  of  them  were  pure,  and 
killed  the  passover  for  all  .the  children  of  the  captivity,  and  for 
their  brethren  the  priests,  and  for  themselves.  And  the  children 
of  Israel,  which  were  come  again  out  of  captivity,  and  all  such  as 
had  separated  themselves  unto  them  from  the  filthiness  of  the  hea- 
then of  the  land,  to  seek  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  did  eat,  and  kept 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  seven  days  with  joy:  for  the  Lord  had 
made  them  joyful,  and  turned  the  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria 
unto  them,  to  strengthen  their  hands  in  the  work  of  the  house  of 
God,  the  God  of  Israel.'^  But  this  plainly  relates,  like  the  former, 
to  the  temple,  and  it  alone. 

The  third  edict,  which  I  conceive  to  be  the  true  one,  is  given 
by  Artaxerxes  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign.  It  is  contained 
in  the  following  chapter,  Ezra  vii.  : — "  Now  after  these  things,  in 
the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  king  of  Persia,  Ezra,  the  son  of  Seraiah, 
the  son  of  Azariah,  the  son  of  Hilkiah,  the  son  of  Shallum,  the 
son  of  Zadok,  the  son  of  Ahitub,  the  son  of  Amariah,  the  son  of 
Azariah,  the  son  of  Meraioth,  the  son  of  Zerahiah,  the  son  of  Uzzi, 
the  son  of  Bukki,  the  son  of  Abishua,  the  son  of  Phinehas,  the  son 
of  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron  the  chief  priest:  this  Ezra  went  up 
from  Babylon ;  and  he  was  a  ready  scribe  in  the  law  of  Moses,  which 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel  had  given :  and  the  king  granted  him  all  his 
request,  according  to  the  hand  of  the  Lord  his  God  upon  him.  And 
there  went  up  some  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  of  the  priests,  and 


SACRED   ARITHMETIC.  385 

the  Levites,  and  the  singers,  and  the  porters,  and  the  Nethinims, 
unto  Jerusalem,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes  the  king.  And 
he  came  to  Jerusalem  in  the  fifth  month,  which  was  in  the  seventh 
year  of  the  king.  For  upon  the  first  day  of  the  first  month  began  he 
to  go  up  from  Babylon,  and  on  the  first  day  of  the  fifth  month  came 
he  to  Jerusalem  according  to  the  good  hand  of  his  God  upon  him. 
For  Ezra  had  prepared  his  heart  to  seek  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
do  it,  and  to  teach  in  Israel  statutes  and  judgments.  Now  this 
is  the  copy  of  the  letter  that  the  king  Artaxerxes  gave  unto  Ezra  the 
priest,  the  scribe,  even  a  scribe  of  the  words  of  the  commandment  of 
the  Lord,  and  of  his  statutes  to  Israel.  Artaxerxes,  kings  of  kings, 
unto  Ezra  the  priest,  a  scribe  of  the  law  of  the  God  of  heaven,  per- 
fect peace,  and  at  such  a  time.  I  make  a  decree,  that  all  they  of 
the  people  of  Israel,  and  of  his  priests  and  Levites,  in  my  realm,  which 
are  minded  of  their  own  freewill  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  go  with 
thee.  Forasmuch  as  thou  art  sent  of  the  king,  and  of  his  seven 
counsellors,  to  inquire  concerning  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  according 
to  the  law  of  thy  God  which  is  in  thine  hand;  and  to  carry  the  silver 
and  gold,  which  the  king  and  his  counsellors  have  freely  offered  unto 
the  God  of  Israel,  whose  habitation  is  in  Jerusalem,  and  all  the 
silver  and  gold  that  thou  canst  find  in  all  the  province  of  Babylon, 
with  the  freewill  oifering  of  the  people,  and  of  the  priests,  offering 
willingly  for  the  house  of  their  God  which  is  in  Jerusalem :  that 
thou  mayest  buy  speedily  with  this  money  bullocks,  rams,  lambs, 
with  their  meat  offerings  and  their  drink  offerings,  and  ofier  them 
upon  the  altar  of  the  house  of  your  God  which  is  in  Jerusalem. 
And  whatsoever  shall  seem  good  to  thee,  and  to  thy  brethren, 
to  do  with  the  rest  of  the  silver  and  the  gold,  that  do  after 
the  will  of  your  God.  The  vessels  also  that  are  given  thee 
for  the  sercive  of  the  house  of  thy  God,  those  deliver  thou 
before  the  God  of  Jerusalem.  And  whatsoever  more  shall  be 
needful  for  the  house  of  thy  God,  which  thou  shalt  have  occasion 
to  bestow,  bestow  it  out  of  the  king's  treasure-house.  And 
I,  even  I  Artaxerxes  the  king,  do  make  a  decree  to  all  the 
treasurers  which  are  beyond  the  river,  that  whatsoever  Ezra 
the  priest,  the  scribe  of  the  law  of  the  God  of  heaven,  shall  re- 
quire of  you,  it  be  done  speedily,  unto  an  hundred  talents  of 
silver,  and  to  an  hundred  measures  of  wheat,  and  to  an  hundred 

33 


S86  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

baths  of  wine,  and  to  an  liundred  baths  of  oil,  and  salt  ■without 
prescribing  how  much.  Whatsoever  is  commanded  by  the  God 
of  heaven,  let  it  be  diligently  done  for  the  house  of  the  God  of 
heaven :  for  why  should  there  be  wrath  against  the  realm  of 
the^king  and  his  sons  ?  Also  we  certify  you,  that  touching  any 
of  the  priests  and  Levites,  singers,  porters,  Nethinims,  or  mi- 
nisters of  this  house  of  God,  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  impose 
toll,  tribute,  or  custom,  upon  them.  And  thou,  Ezra,  after  the 
wisdom  of  thy  God,  that  is  in  thine  hand,  set  magistrates  and 
judges,  which  may  judge  all  the  people  that  are  beyond  the 
river,  all  such  as  know  the  laws  of  thy  God,  and  teach  ye  them 
that  know  them  not.  And  whosoever  will  not  do  the  law  of 
thy  God,  and  the  law  of  the  king,  let  judgment  be  executed 
speedily  upon  him,  whether  it  be  unto  death,  or  to  banishment, 
or  to  confiscation  of  goods,  or  to  imprisonment.  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God  of  our  fathers,  which  hath  put  such  a  thing  as  this 
in  the  king's  heart,  to  beautify  the  house  of  the  Lord  which 
is  in  Jerusalem  :  and  hath  extended  mercy  unto  me  before  the 
king  and  his  counsellors,  and  before  all  the  king's  mighty  princes. 
And  I  was  strengthened,  as  the  hand  of  the  Lord  my  God  was 
upon  me,  and  I  gathered  together  out  of  Israel  chief  men  to 
go  up  with  me.^^ 

A  fourth  one,  as  has  been  supposed  by  some,  was  given  to 
Nehemiah  in  the  twentieth  year  of  Artaxerxes.  But  on  com- 
paring carefully  the  seventh  chapter  of  Ezra,  which  it  is  im- 
portant to  read,  where  the  commission  is  given  to  Ezra,  with 
the  second  chapter  of  Nehemiah,  where  the  commission  is  given 
to  Nehemiah,  you  will  easily  perceive  that  the  proclamation  given 
to  Ezra  was  a  royal  one,  a  general  and  a  public  one,  and  that 
the  commission  given  to  Nehemiah  was  a  personal  and  private 
commission  to  an  individual  to  go  and  carry  out  with  great 
speed  and  vigour  what  Ezra  had  begun ;  and  afterward  we  find 
the  two  working  together  and  carrying  on  the  rebuilding  and  the 
restoration  of  Jerusalem,  its  temple,  its  streets,  in  very  troublous 
times,  the  labourers  having  each  the  trowel  in  one  hand  and 
the  spear  in  the  other.  I  therefore  argue,  that  the  commencing 
period  was  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  as  re- 
corded in  the   seventh    chapter  of    Ezra.     There  we  begin  the 


SACRED  ARITHMETIC.  387 

whole  period  of  seventy  weeks,  and  of  course  of  the  first  period 
into  which  it  is  divided,  viz.  seven  weeks  or  forty-nine  years. 
We  find  that  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  was  restored,  (you  will 
find,  in  the  chapters  we  have  read  from  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  that 
I  am  giving  only  a  summary  of  what  is  there,)  the  offering  was 
brought  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  the  genealogies  of  the  people 
were  entered,  and  the  people  were  separated,  and  made  distinct 
and  peculiar  from  other  nations.  We  find  by  careful  analysis 
that  Ezra  had  laboured  thirteen  years  under  the  commission  of 
Artaxerxes,  given  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  as  recorded  in 
the  seventh  chapter  of  Ezra ;  and  that  Nehemiah  had  laboured 
twelve  years  under  his,  the  twelve  and  thirteen  years  together 
making  twenty-five  years.  We  read  in  Nehemiah,  that  he  returned 
from  Jerusalem  to  his  royal  master,  after  he  had  laboured  twelve 
years  in  restoring  the  city,  and  that  after  residing  with  his  royal 
master  for  some  time,  he  returned  to  complete  the  work  which  he 
had  left  unfinished.  We  have  now  to  ascertain  how  long  he  re- 
mained away,  in  order  to  make  up  the  years.  In  the  last  chapter  of 
Nehemiah,  at  verse  28,  we  read :  '^  And  one  of  the  sons  of  Jehoiada, 
the  son  of  Eliashib  the  high-priest,  was  son-in-law  to  Sanballat 
the  Horonite."  Then  Eliashib  was  high-priest,  and  we  know  this 
fact  occurred  412  j^ears  before  Christ — that  is,  twenty  years  addi- 
tional to  the  twenty-five  which  I  have  already  specified.  We  have 
therefore  discovered  twelve  years,  thirteen  years,  and  twenty  years, 
that  is  in  all  forty-five.  Now  the  difficulty  is,  how  are  we  to  get 
the  other  four  years.  It  rests  with  you  as  reasonable  men  to 
judge  whether  what  I  shall  advance  makes  out  the  point  we  are 
in  search  of. 

Nehemiah  returned  to  finish  the  work  he  had  begun  at  the 
end  of  forty-five  years.  Well,  the  presumption  is,  that  if  he 
had  spent  so  long  a  time  in  carrying  it  on,  and  if  so  much  re- 
mained undone  that  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  returning  to 
help  it  to  a  close,  he  took  at  least  four  years  to  complete  the 
work.  I  have  no  element  that  will  give  me  this  four  years  abso- 
lutely; I  can  only  reasonably  conjecture  that  when  he  returned 
after  forty-five  years,  to  give  the  finishing  strokes  to  this  great 
work,  his  labours  occupied  not  less,  and  probably  not  more  than 
four  years,  thus  making  in  all  forty-nine  years  on  the  building 


888  rROPIIETIC   STUDIES. 

of  Jerusalem  in  troublous  times^  and  presenting  it^  as  we  know 
it  to  have  been  presented,  entire  and  complete. 

Malaclii  tbe  propliet  appeared  just  at  this  time,  as  the  last  of 
the  prophets:  the  spirit  of  prophecy  then  departed  from  the 
Jews.  This  was  409  years  before  the  Christian  era.  This  ces- 
sation of  prophecy,  the  completion  of  the  temple,  and  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Jewish  polity,  took  place  exactly  forty-nine  years 
(this  is  matter  of  fact)  after  the  issuing  of  the  command  in  the 
seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes  to  restore  and  to  rebuild  Jerusalem. 
We  have  thus,  then,  got  rid  of  the  first  of  the  three  divisions  of 
the  490  years.  Taking  away  these  seven  prophetic  weeks,  or 
forty-nine  years,  there  remained  sixty-two  weeks  from  the  com- 
pletion of  Jerusalem,  that  is,  the  termination  of  the  forty-nine 
years,  to  the  manifestation  of  the  Prince  the  Messiah,  Now,  if 
we  date  the  one  week  for  his  death,  and  confirmation  of  the 
covenant  from  the  going  forth  of  the  command,  we  shall  find 
that  the  490  years,  minus  seven  years,  that  is,  seventy  weeks, 
minus  the  last  one,  expired  exactly  A.  D.  26, — or  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  26  the  epoch  expired.  But  how  can  it  be  said  that 
Jesus  was  manifested  at  the  age  of  twenty-six?  It  is  matter  of 
fact  that  he  was  not.  Some  have  tried  to  prove  that  there  wa» 
at  this  time,  when  the  Baptist  made  his  appearance,  a  commenc- 
ing manifestation,  or  what  might  be  broadly  construed  as  such. 
But  a  fact  has  been  introduced  in  this  discussion  which  settles 
the  matter  at  once — that  when  the  Christian  era  was  settled,  an 
error  of  four  years  was  committed.  You  will  see  an  evidence  of 
this  eiTor  in  the  2d  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke.  It  is  the 
marginal  reading  of  Bagster's  large  Bible,  and  you  will  see  it  in 
most  of  the  marginal  readings  of  other  Bibles.  At  Luke  ii.  43, 
you  will  find  these  words — "And  when  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
they  v/ent  up  to  Jerusalem  after  the  custom  of  the  feast."  Now,  in 
Bagster's  Bible,  and  in  Bibles  having  the  full  marginal  reference, 
you  will  see  A.  d.  8.  In  Bagster's  Bible,  called  the  Treasury  Bible, 
and  a  very  valuable  one  it  is,  you  will  find  A.  D.  8.  But  if  the  A.  I), 
begins  at  our  Lord's  birth,  the  date  would  have  been  12.  This  is 
explained  by  a  blunder  of  four  years  having  been  committed  when 
the  Christian  era  was  settled.  If  this  be  correct,  we  have  to  add 
four  years  to  twenty-six,  and  twenty-six  and  four  are  thirty,  and 


SACRED  ARITHMETIC.  3S9 

thus  tlie  termination  will  be  a.d.  30.  Now  we  find,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  that  Christ  was  born,  not  at  Christmas,  as  is  popularly  sup- 
posed, but  a  considerable  time  before.  The  high  probability  is, 
that  our  Lord  was  born  in  the  autumn,  in  the  beginning  of  Octo- 
ber, or  in  the  spring  season.  Another  evidence  of  it  is  this,  that 
the  shepherds  were  in  the  fields  watching  their  flocks,  which  could 
scarcely  be  in  mid-winter :  all  the  inspired  picture  suggests  a  se- 
rene and  beautiful  evening,  when  the  angels'  song  pealed  from 
the  skies,  '^Grlory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will toward  men  I"  Well,  if  so,  you  make  the  age  of  our  Lord 
twenty-nine  and  a  half,  by  taking  the  period  of  the  year,  namely, 
spring,  into  consideration;  whether  we  suppose  the  nativity  to 
have  occurred  toward  the  close  of  J.  P.  4709,  or  the  commence- 
ment of  J.  P.  4710,  within  which  limits  it  demonstrably  occur- 
red, the  year  31  of  our  Lord  proves  coincident  with  j.  p.  4740, 
A.  D.  27;*  and  at  that  age,  twenty-nine  and  a  half,  or  thirty 
years,  we  have  the  expiring  of  the  seventy  weeks,  minus  one 
week,  or  the  490  years,  being  434  years  from  the  completion  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  temple.  But  what  took  place  in  the  year 
A.D.  30  of  our  Lord's  life?  He  was  baptized  by  John,  and  a 
voice  came  from  heaven,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased.''  He  was  thus  inaugurated  into  his  office. 
He  then  commenced  his  ministry,  his  precious  ministry  of  love 
and  truth;  he  expired  upon  the  cross  three,  or  three-and  a  half 
years  after — that  is,  in  the  middle  of  last  week,  he  was  cut  ofi", 
but  not  for  himself. 

We  have  thus,  then,  reached  with  tolerable  clearness,  if  I 
have  been  able  to  make  myself  understood,  the  completion  of 
484  years,  or  the  490  years,  minus  seven  years,  or  the  one  week, 
which  yet  remain.  In  other  words,  I  have  accounted  for  that 
part  of  the  490  years  which  embraces  483  years,  i.  e.  for  seven 
weeks  and  sixty-two  weeks.  But  one  period,  a  week  of  seven 
years,  still  remains  to  complete  the  490  years.  From  the  going 
forth  of  the  command  to  the  manifestation  of  the  Messiah  was 
483  years — the  remaining  week  of  seven  years  added,  makes  490 
years,  that  is  the  sum  total.     Let  us  ascertain  then,  what  that 

*  See  Dr.  Nolan's  "Warburtonian  Lectures,  p.  474. 


300  PrvOPHETIC    STUDIES. 

week  was,  and  how  far  the  prediction  that  he  should  be  cut  ofF 
in  the  midst  of  it,  and  confirm  the  covenant,  have  been  realized, 
Christ  was  to  confirm  the  covenant  for  one  week.  There  is  but 
one  covenant,  and  this  is  especially  predicted  in  Jeremiah  xxxi. 
31 : — "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make 
a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of 
Judah:  not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their 
fathers.''  Then  I  refer  to  Hebrews  x.  15-18 :  "  Whereof  the 
Holy  Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  us :  for  after  that  he  had  said 
before.  This  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  them  after  those 
days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  hearts,  and  in 
their  minds  will  I  write  them ;  and  their  sins  and  iniquities  will 
I  remember  no  more.  Now,  where  remission  of  these  is,  there 
is  no  more  offering  for  sin.''  The  covenant,  then,  is  plainly  the 
New  Testament  dispensation,  and  this  covenant  Christ  was  to 
confirm  with  many,  or,  as  the  Hebrews  words  might  be  literally 
translated,  he  was  to  confirm  it  "  with  the  multitude"  for  one 
week.  Now  let  us  watch  our  Lord's  preaching.  From  the  age 
of  thirty,  when  he  began  his  ministry,  to  the  moment  of  his  con- 
demnation, his  preaching  was  eminently  popular.  It  is  declared 
in  one  passage,  that  "  the  common  people  heard  him  gladly" — 
the  scribes,  the  priests,  the  Pharisees  were  then,  as  always,  in- 
stinct with  inveterate  antipathy,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  peoj)le 
heard  him  gladly.  So  enthusiastically  was  he  received  in  some 
parts  of  his  glorious  embas.sy,  that  they  strewed  his  very  path  with 
palms,  and  shouted  as  he  came,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David: 
Hosanna  in  the  highest."  With  the  multitude,  that  is,  "  with 
many,"  he  made  the  covenant;  to  the  people  he  explained  the 
covenant,  and  they  heard  him  gladly.  But  this  he  did  from 
thirty  to  thirty-three  and  a  half  years  of  age,  or  during  three  and 
a  half  years.  How  does  it  apply  to  him  after  he  v.^as  gone? 
We  find  that  what  he  did  personaUi/  for  three  and  a  half  years 
before  his  death,  he  did  by  the  apostles  mediately  three  and  a 
half  years  after  his  death,  just  as  he  did  miracles  personally  be- 
fore his  death,  and  by  the  apostles  after;  at  the  end  of  this  pe- 
riod the  apostles  left  the  Jews,  shaking  the  dust  from  their  feet : 
Peter  gets  his  commission  to  go  to  the  Gentiles,  and  the  Jews 
are  cast  off,  and  remain  so  to  this  day.     During  seven  years,  or. 


SACRED   ARITHMETIC.  391 

three  years  and  a  liulf  previous,  and  three  years  and  a  half  sub- 
sequent to  Christ's  death,  the  covenant  was  confirmed  to  the 
great  multitude  of  that  nation,  after  which  it  was  taken  from 
them,  and  given  to  another  people.  But  in  the  midst  of  this 
last  week  Christ  was  to  be  cut  off.  Here,  again,  the  perform- 
ance and  the  prophecy  perfectly  tally  3  it  was  in  the  middle  of 
the  week  of  the  remaining  seven  years  that  Christ  was  cut  off. 
Three  and  a  half  years  from  his  manifestation  at  thirty  terminated 
his  life,  three  and  a  half  years  after  that  terminated  the  direct 
mission  of  the  apostles  to  the  Jews  as  a  distinctive  and  peculiar 
people.  But  the  best  proof  of  it  is,  that  when  he  should  thus 
die  and  be  cut  off,  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  that  the  offering  and 
the  oblation  should  cease.  It  is  said,  "And  in  the  midst  of  the 
week  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease,"  that 
is  plainly  the  morning  and  the  evening  sacrifice,  and  the  great 
atonement  made  once  a  year  for  the  remission  of  sins. 

Most  interestingly  God's  providence  reveals  to  us  the  truth  of 
God's  prophetic  word.  The  Talmudists  say  that  about  forty  years 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  that  is,  about  the  time  of  the 
death  of  Jesus,  the  lots  were  not  cast  for  the  victim,  or  passed 
into  the  priest's  hand;  the  wool  was  not  dipped  in  the  blood  of 
the  atonement,  nor  were  evening  lamps  lighted,  and  the  temple 
doors  were  all  left  open.  That  is,  in  the  very  year  in  which 
Christ  was  cut  off,  or  about  forty  years  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  it  is  admitted  that  there  was  a  suspension  of  the  regu- 
lar office  of  the  Jewish  priests;  the  secession  of  the  sanhedrim 
had  taken  place,  in  consequence  of  which  the  high-priest  was 
incapacitated  to  perform  the  chief  functions  of  his  office.  "We 
find,  moreover,  that  when  the  Jewish  national  independence  had 
ceased  to  exist,  Pilate  took  away  the  robes  of  the  high-priest,  in 
which  robes  alone  he  could  officiate  on  the  three  high  festivals. 
These  robes  of  the  high-priest,  in  which  alone  he  could  officiate, 
were  locked  up  under  seal  in  the  tower  of  Antonia ;  and  for  six 
months  before,  and  eighteen  months  after  Christ's  death,  the 
offering  and  the  oblation  ceased,  because  the  priest  had  not  the 
proper  robes  in  which  to  perform  the  one  or  the  other !  How 
striking  is  this  fact !  And  the  very  money  collected  to  pay  the 
offering  Pilate  took  away  from  the  church,  and  appropriated  to 


392  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

the  state ;  and  it  became  a  political  tax,  and  not,  as  it  might  be 
called,  a  church-rate.  The  very  means  and  elements  of  Jewish 
worship  were  thus  exhausted ;  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  ceased. 
But  why  did  they  thus  cease  ?  Not  merely  was  prophecy  thus 
fulfilled — ^but  the  shadow  disappeared,  for  the  sun  had  risen  !  the 
symbol  evaporated,  for  the  substance  was  come  !  the  type  was  lost, 
for  the  antitype  had  now  arrived  !  And  round  that  cross,  when 
Jesus  died,  and  in  mingled  agony  and  triumph  cried,  ''It  is 
finished !"  Moses,  Abraham,  and  Levi,  and  Ezekiel,  and  Jere- 
miah, and  Daniel,  and  type,  and  prophecy,  and  sacrifice,  and  high- 
priest,  and  Levite  stood,  and  repeated  each  and  all  the  cry,  "It  is 
finished,^^  ''Amen."  The  oblation  and  the  sacrifice  ceased;  the 
great  Sacrifice  was  come.  Is  not  this  reasoning,  if  not  mathema- 
tically conclusive,  morally  so  ?  Is  it  not  the  highest  possible  pre- 
sumption that  the  epoch  specified  by  Daniel  is  the  Messianic,  that 
the  Messiah  predicted  by  Daniel  is  come  ? 

First,  then,  behold  the  great  end  and  purpose  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  How  happens  it  that  this  people  were  preserved  so  pecu- 
liar, singular,  separate  from  the  nations  ?  They  were  placed  in 
Babylon — but  not  lost  in  it :  some  of  them  were  promoted  to 
high  offices,  and  employed  in  lucrative  works;  they  were  mingled 
with  the  people.  All  analogies,  all  laws  would  go  to  demonstrate 
that  a  people  seventy  years  in  captivity,  slaves  for  three  genera- 
tions, would  inevitably  be  lost  in  the  conquering  nation,  as  a  tri- 
butary stream  is  lost  in  the  mighty  river  into  which  it  flows.  And 
yet,  at  the  end  of  three  generations,  all  their  yearnings  and  their 
instincts  were  as  strong  and  earnest  as  ever  toward  Jerusalem, 
and  the  instant  that  the  depression  of  their  condition  was  removed, 
and  their  captivity  expired,  their  hearts  found  a  home  only  in 
Jerusalem.  Why  was  this  people  so  preserved?  Because  the 
truth  of  a  thousand  promises  rested  on  their  being  so.  God  in- 
terposed at  every  period  of  their  wondrous  history  to  keep  them 
for  the  promised  birth  of  Him  who  should  be  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah — a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  his  peo- 
ple Israel.  And  so  that  people  are  kept  still.  Do  you  think  it 
accident  that  they  are  as  they  are — a  people  without  a  country, 
their  country  without  a  people — found  in  all  lands,  speaking  all 
tongues,  amid  the  snows  of  Lapland,  on  the  sands  of  Senegal ; 


SACKED   ArJTIDIETIC.  393 

under  tyrants  that  crush  tliem,  in  republics  that  enfranchise 
them  ?  Is  it  to  no  i^urpose  that  they  are  kept  thus  insulated  from 
the  nations  of  the  world  ?  Like  globules  of  quicksilver  dashed 
upon  the  earth  en  masse,  they  are  all  shivered  and  scattered ;  but 
the  great  Restorer  shall  collect  the  bright  drops  from  a  thousand 
lands,  removing  what  prevents  their  cohesion,  and  they  shall 
meet  and  mingle  in  ancient  and  again  beautiful  Jerusalem,  and 
reflect  the  image  of  him  who  is  the  Prince  the  Messiah,  amid 
anthems  and  songs,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,  hosanna  in 
the  highest !  Blessed  is  he  that  is  come  again  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord !'' 

In  the  next  place,  we  have  here  irresistible  evidence,  as  I  have 
already  indicated,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah.  The  moral  picture 
and  the  chronological  data,  both  combined,  constitute  the  full 
demonstration  that  he  is  the  Messiah.  We  have  no  less  proof  of 
the  striking  fact  that  Jesus  died,  and  died,  as  I  have  shown,  an 
atoning  death.  His  death — never  forget  it — was  not  the  death 
of  a  sainted  martyr,  but  of  an  atoning  victim ;  we  regard  the 
death  of  Jesus  not  as  that  of  an  heroic  saint,  but  as  that  of  an 
expiatory  and  atoning  sacrifice.  It  was  altar-fire  that  consumed 
him,  it  was  a  temple  life  that  he  led,  it  was  an  atoning  death  that 
he  died.  Messiah  was  cut  ofi^,  but  not  for  himself,  and  made  re- 
conciliation for  our  iniquit}^ 

In  the  next  place,  this  sacrifice  was  and  is  finished,  perfect, 
complete.  JMy  dear  friends,  we  are  justified,  not  by  any  thing  we 
contribute,  not  by  any  thing  we  do,  not  by  any  thing  we  sufibr, 
nor  by  rite  nor  by  ceremony,  but  by  this  :  ^^  He  that  knew  no  sin 
was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  by  him."  Our  sins  were  laid  upon  him,  external  to  his  holy 
nature ;  the  innocent  lamb  wore  our  tainted  fleece,  and  in  it  the 
Saviour  expired  a  sacrifice.  And  as  it  was  just  in  God  to  pour 
out  the  expressions  of  his  wrath  upon  the  innocent  one,  because 
he  saw  him  in  the  robes  of  the  transgressor,  it  will  be  but  faithful 
and  just  in  God  to  pour  out  the  expressions  of  his  love  upon  us, 
the  strayed  sheep,  recovered,  and  clothed  again  in  the  glorious 
fleece  of  Emmanuel's  righteousness.  God  hid  his  eyes  from  the 
innocence  of  Jesus  because  of  our  sins  laid  upon  him ;  he  will 
hide  his  eyes  from  the  transgressions  of  his  people  because  of 


394  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

Jesus'  righteousness  laid  upon  them.  Because  Jesus  was  cut  off, 
but  not  for  himself,  we  shall  live  for  ever.  Every  synagogue  in 
London  is  a  standing  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel.  Lambs  and  goats  bleed  for  the  sins  of  the  people  no 
more.  Where,  my  Jewish  brethren,  are  your  great  atonement, 
where  the  morning  and  the  evening  lamb,  where  the  great  sacri- 
fices for  sin  ?  Have  you  not  read,  that  without  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  forgiveness  of  sin  ?  Where  is  the  shedding  of  blood  ? 
Why  is  it  not  ?  Kabbi  and  Jew  are  silent  ?  AYhy  ?  I  can  tell. 
Because  the  Messiah  in  the  midst  of  the  week  was  cut  off  and 
made  the  long-prefigured  sacrifice,  and  ended  the  oblation  for  sin. 
Every  Jew  upon  the  streets  unconsciously  cries,  ^^  It  is  finished  ;"- 
every  synagogue  in  the  land  protests,  ^' It  is  finished;"  every  me- 
morial of  the  suffering  of  that  persecuted  race,  their  insulation 
from  the  nations  of  the  earth,  their  clinging  to  Levi,  and  to  the 
land  of  their  fathers,  all  proclaim,  ''  It  is  finished."  May  it  be 
our  heartfelt  joy  that  "  it  is  finished  I"  It  is  so.  Thanks  and 
glory  be  to  God. 

'"lis  finish'd;  the  Messiah  dies 
For  sins,  but  not  his  own  ; 
The  great  redemption  is  complete, 
And  Satan's  pow'r  o'erthrown." 


395 


LECTURE   XXVII. 


THE    MESSIAH    THE   PRINCE. 


"  Know  therefore  and  understand,  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the  command- 
ment to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince  shall  be 
seven  weeks,  and  three  score  and  two  weeks :  the  streets  shall  be  built  again, 
and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times." — Daniel  ix.  25. 

After  having  explained  at  some  length  the  priestly  ojffice  of 
the  Messiah,  as  that  office  is  unfolded  in  verse  24,  viz.  ''  To  finish 
transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sin,  to  make  reconciliation 
for  iniquity,  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness/'  I  have  thought 
that  I  cannot  close  this  first  part  of  the  visions  of  Daniel,  which 
we  have  contemplated  before  on  successive  Sabbath  evenings, 
without  some  remarks  upon  that  most  important  office  of  the 
Messiah,  the  kindly  office,  or  Messiah  the  Prince. 

That  Jesus  is  the  High-Priest  of  his  church,  all  true  churches 
fully  admit — that  he  is  the  only  Prophet  whose  word  is  infallible, 
all  true  Christians  equally  admit.  His  royal  office  is  equally 
important.  Scripture  speaks  as  often  of  the  kingly  office  of  the 
Messiah  as  of  his  priestly  and  his  prophetic  offices ;  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  his  roj^al  functions  are  just  as  precious  as  his 
sacerdotal,  in  practical  value  to  us,  or  they  would  not  have  been 
so  often  and  so  distinctly  unfolded  in  Scripture.  In  all  his 
offices  Jesus  is  the  object  of  the  faith  and  hope  of  believers. 

Let  me  proceed  to  give  some  instances  of  scriptural  allusions 
to  the  princely  or  kingly  office  of  the  Messiah.  In  prophecy  we 
read — "A  sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel" — that  is,  Christ  the 
Messiah  shall  be  hing.  Again  :  "  His  name  shall  be  called  [that 
is,  in  prophetic  language,  he  shall  actually  be]  the  Prince  of 
peace.''  Again:  "I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous  branch, 
and  a  hing  shall  reign."     Again,  in  Micah:  '^Thou,  Beth-lehem 


396  Pr.OPIIETIC   STUDIES. 

Ephratah,  tliougli  thou  be  little  among  tlie  thousands  of  Judah, 
yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  he  ruler  in 
Israel/' 

It  was  in  the  belief  of  these  prophecies,  or  from  their  having 
heard  the  echoes  of  them  sounding  over  all  the  earth,  that  the 
Magi,  when  they  came  to  Jesus,  guided  by  the  prophetic  star, 
asked,  "  Where  is  he  who  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  V  Again, 
Nathanael  said,  "  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  thou  art  the  King 
of  Israel/'  And  Jesus,  speaking  of  himself  on  that  last  day 
when  all  destiny  shall  be  settled,  and  the  great  drama  of  this 
world  shall  be  wound  up  for  ever,  says,  ''  Then  shall  the  King 
say  to  them  upon  his  right  hand/'  Pilate,  addressing  Jesus, 
asked  him,  '-Art  thou  a  hingT^  Jesus  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive, ^^  Thou  sayest  /'  that  is,  translated  in  modern  phrase,  ^'I  am 
a  king/'  And  as  if  the  rays  of  his  kingly  glory  could  not  be 
repressed — as  if  the  splendour  of  that  diadem  which  the  scorn, 
the  insult,  and  reproach  of  the  world  were  combined  to  tarnish, 
could  not  be  hidden,  it  is  declared  that  his  very  foes  inscribed, 
under  a  mysterious  influence  they  could  neither  explain  nor  resist, 
these  words  upon  his  cross,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the 
Jews/'  When  the  priests,  alive  to  the  force  of  these  words, 
said,  ^^  Say  not  the  King  of  the  Jews,  but  write  that  he  said,  I 
am  the  King  of  the  Jews,"  Pilate,  the  unconscious  minister  of  a 
sublime  purpose,  was  made  to  authenticate  the  truth  of  the 
inscription  when  he  said,  ^' What  I  have  written  I  have  written  j" 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  King  of  the  Jews.  In  him,  in  short,  centre 
all  the  royalties  of  David,  all  the  righteousness  of  IMelchisedek, 
all  the  peacefulness  of  Solomon.  He  is  ^'King  of  kings,"  "the 
Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth."  Hidden  he  may  now  be  ] 
denied  by  the  world  he  is ;  thousands  may  shout,  "  We  will  not 
have  this  man  to  rule  over  us;"  but  in  temples  some  of  which 
the  sun  gilds  with  his  earliest  rays,  and  on  others  of  which  linger 
his  retiring  beams,  these  joyful  words  are  sounding  from  pious 
hearts  and  glad  tongues — "Thou  art  the  King  of  Glory,  0 
Christ !" 

In  viewing  this  royal  office  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
investigating  the  meaning  of  the  expression  of  Daniel,  "  Messiah 
the  Prince,"  I  may  state,  first  of  all,  that  he  is  represented  in  the 


THE   MESSIAH  THE   PRINCE.  897 

Scriptures  as  tlie  true  Melchisedek,  the  hing  of  rigliteousness  ;  as 
that  king,  in  short,  who,  in  spiritual  things,  alone  has  legislative 
and  conclusive  prerogatives.  He  alone  can  repeal  a  law^  he 
alone  can  create  or  re-enact  a  law.  Paul,  Peter,  John,  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  can  say,  '^A  new  commandment  is 
given  f"  but  Christ  could  say,  because  he  is  Blessiah  the  Prince, 
'^A  new  commandment  /  gii-e  unto  you.''  On  the  mount,  in 
that  sublime  sermon,  unrivalled  for  its  beauty  and  simplicity — so 
grand  that  the  greatest  philosophers  cannot  exhaust  its  meaning, 
so  sweet  and  so  plain  that  the  humblest  peasant  is  refreshed  and 
delighted  with  its  truth — in  that  sublime  discourse  again  and 
again  he  said,  ^^  Ye  have  heard.  An  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth;  hut  I  say  unto  you  f'  these  are  the  words  of  Messiah  the 
Prince.  The  people  felt  it,  the  crowd  exclaimed,  "  He  speaks  as 
one  having  authority."  In  short,  in  all  that  Jesus  did,  in  all  that 
he  said,  in  all  that  he  suffered,  there  are  the  irresistible  signs  of 
the  presence  of  the  priest,  the  prophet,  and  the  king;  and  the 
unsophisticated  multitude  again  and  again  admitted  that  it  was  so. 
He  alone,  as  Messiah  the  Prince,  repealed  the  ceremonial  law,  by 
presenting  himself  as  its  end,  its  aim,  and  its  object.  He  alone, 
as  the  great.  Legislator  of  the  church,  as  the  Prince  the  Messiah, 
finished  all  the  functions  of  Aaron,  and  unfolded  in  all  their 
grandeur  the  lasting  functions  of  Melchisedek.  He  alone  enun- 
ciated laws;  he  alone  unfolded  new  and  glorious  truths;  and 
every  doctrine  that  he  taught,  every  law  that  he  gave,  are  king's 
words ;  they  bear  the  stamp  and  superscription  of  Messiah  the 
Prince ;  they  constitute  a  royal  code  :  they  are  sublime  pandects 
to  last  while  the  world  lasts,  the  law  and  testimony  of  his  people 
Israel.  For  any  one  now  to  add  to  the  perfect  law,  or  to  step  in, 
and  say,  ^^  Christ  hath  said  so-and-so ;  but /saT/ unto  you,"  would 
be  constructive  treason  against  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
For  any  one  to  add  laws  to  Christ's  law,  and  to  inculcate  opinions 
or  ecclesiastical  truths,  however  good  the  one  or  the  other  may 
be,  in  their  place,  as  if  these  were  of  equal  authority  with  the 
law  of  Christ,  is  not  only  treason,  but  apostasy;  it  is  to  intrude 
into  the  king's  place,  to  assume  the  king's  name,  to  stamp  the 
image  and  the  superscription  of  Messiah  the  Prince  upon  our 
own  vile  brass,  and  give  it  currency  among  mankind.     Thus 

34 


398  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

Christ,  as  King,  gives  us  laws ;  none  else  are  competent  to  do  so. 
His  laws  are  in  all  cases  conclusive.  The  law  of  Cassar  and  the  law 
of  Christ  may  come  into  collision ;  such  collisions  have  occurred, 
though  not  in  our  time,  such  possibilities  may  occur  again ;  but 
when  they  do,  as  we  pray  they  may  not,  we  have  no  choice ; 
whether  it  be  right  to  obey  Cod,  or  to  obey  Caesar,  judge  ye. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  as  Messiah  the  Prince,  or  as  the  King, 
that  Christ  bestows  forgiveness.  It  was  as  a  priest  he  made  it 
possible  for  Grod  to  forgive :  it  is  as  a  king  that  he  makes  that 
forgiveness  actual  to  us.  It  was  upon  his  cross  that  he  purchased 
forgiveness ;  it  is  from  his  throne  that  he  bestows  that  forgive- 
ness. If  Christ  had  never  died  for  us,  the  possibility  of  our 
forgiveness  had  not  been ;  if  Christ  did  not  sit  a  prince  upon  his 
throne,  the  fact  of  our  forgiveness  could  not  be.  Let  us  praise 
him  that  he  died  for  us ;  let  us  praise  him  that  he  reigns  for  us. 
Let  us  rejoice  that  forgiveness  is  possible,  for  Jesus  died;  let  us 
rejoice  that  forgiveness  is  obtainable,  for  Jesus  reigns,  Messiah 
the  Prince.  He  alone  could  say,  "  I  died  for  sins  f'  he  alone 
can  say,  ^'I  bestow  the  forgiveness  of  sins.^'  It  is,  my  dear 
friends,  as  much  an  encroachment  on  the  kingly  office  of  Christ 
to  assume  to  forgive  sin,  as  it  is  an  encroachment  on  the  priestly 
office  of  Christ  to  pretend  to  purchase,  or  to  suffer  for,  or  to  de- 
serve, the  forgiveness  of  sin.  The  hand  that  bled  upon  the  cross, 
that  was  pierced  by  the  nail,  is  the  only  hand  that  can  be 
stretched  out  to  bestow  forgiveness  upon  me.  For  any  one  to  pro- 
nounce a  judicial  absolution  is  an  intrusion  into  the  kingly  office 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     He  who  atoned  alone  can  absolve. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  during  the  first  four  centuries  of 
the  Christian  church,  when  the  pretensions  of  the  priesthood  be- 
gan to  be  stretched  to  an  extravagant  pitch,  and  many  of  the 
fathers,  such  as  Chrysostom,  began  to  speak  of  the  priesthood  as 
the  ordo  divinus — "  the  divine  order,''  there  is  not  one  instance 
recorded,  of  absolution  being  pronounced,  by  priest  or  prelate,  in 
the  first  person  singular,  "I  absolve.''  In  all  the  very  ancient, 
offices,  absolution  was  simply  a  prayer,  and  not  a  judicial  act. 
And  it  is  a  pity  that  in  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England, 
amid  so  many  services  that  are  beautiful,  there  is  one — I  admit, 
fallen  very  much  into  desuetude— in  which  is  still  a  formula  of 


THE    MESSIAH  THE   PRINCE.  399 

absolution  whicli  is  not  scriptural,  not  truly  primitive,  '^  I  absolve 
thee.'^  I  know  it  is  understood  by  evangelical  ministers  to  be 
declarative,  but  it  is  made  tlie  basis  of  pretensions  on  the  part  of 
ministers  of  another  stamp  on  which  they  assume  to  pronounce  a 
judicial  absolution.  A  minister  has  no  more  power  to  absolve 
sins  than  a  layman.  I  believe  truly  the  words  which  Martin 
Luther  uses :  "  A  pope  or  a  bishop  has  no  more  power  to  remit 
sin  than  the  humblest  priest;  nay,  without  any  priest,  every 
Christian,  even  though  a  woman  or  a  child,  can  do  the  same.  If 
a  simple  believer,  woman  or  child,  say  to  thee,  ^  God  pardon  thy 
sins,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,'  and  thou  receive  the  word  with 
a  firm  faith,  thou  art  absolved  in  God's  sight.''  So  completely 
did  that  great  reformer  sweep  out  of  the  visible  church  all  idea 
of  a  priesthood  among  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  great 
nucleus  of  the  growing  apostasy  that  is  around  us  is  the  idea  of  a 
priesthood  being  the  true  character  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
There  is  no  such  officer,  I  have  often  told  you,  as  a  Upeh:;,  a  sacri- 
ficing priest,  in  the  church  of  Christ.  It  would  be  more  appro- 
priate that  a  colonel  of  a  regiment  should  stand  by  the  communion 
table,  because  he  may  be  a  Christian,  than  that  a  sacrificing  priest 
should  pretend  to  do  so  :  we  know  of  no  such  officer ;  there  is  no 
room  for  him.  The  introduction  of  the  idea  that  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel  are  sacrificing  priests,  is  the  opening  of  the  door  for 
the  inrush  of  the  full  flood  of  the  western  apostasy.  Christ  alone 
absolves :  as  a  priest  he  purchased  forgiveness,  and  he  has  all  the 
glory  of  that ;  as  a  king  he  bestows  forgiveness,  and  he  claims  all 
the  glory  of  that.  It  is  the  very  essence  of  Protestant  and  Scrip- 
tural Christianity,  not  to  keep  you  for  a  moment  by  the  priest, 
but  to  bring  you  to  Christ  for  the  price  of  forgiveness,  to  Christ 
for  the  bestowal  of  forgiveness;  that  Christ  in  the  midst  of  the 
church,  and  in  the  believer's  heart,  as  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King, 
may  be  all  and  in  all. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  as  a  King  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
appoints  and  sends  forth  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Such  appoint- 
ment is  the  fruit  of  his  intercession ;  it  is  also  the  commission  of 
his  kingly  power.  It  matters  not,  or  it  may  matter  not,  by  what 
ecclesiastical  formula  or  canon  or  rite  the  minister  may  be  ap- 
pointed ;  if  he  be  a  true  minister,  he  is  sent  by  the  Lord  Jesus 


400  PPtOPHETIC   STUDIES. 

Christ ;  for  wlien  he  ascended  up  on  high^  ^^  he  gave  some^  apos- 
tles ;  and  some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists ;  and  some,  jjas- 
tors  and  teachers."  No  human  commission  can  be  a  substitute 
for  the  divine  one;  the  true  presentation  is  from  the  upper  throne; 
the  real  ordination  is  under  the  hand  of  Jesus.  The  appointment 
of  a  minister  is  a  royal  one,  but  it  is  from  a  royalty  that  lives  and 
lasts  beyond  the  stars — the  royalty  of  Messiah  the  Prince.  Per- 
haps, if  we  quarrelled  less  about  ecclesiastical  formulae,  and 
honoured  more  the  kingship  of  Christ,  by  asking  oftener  of  Mes- 
siah the  Prince  to  send  forth  labourers  into  the  vineyard,  it  would 
be  better  for  the  church  of  Christ.  A  patron  may  present  one 
who  has  every  ecclesiastical  fitness,  but  yet  he  may  not  be  a  minis- 
ter of  Christ.  The  people  may  elect  one  who  has  every  element 
of  eloquence,  and  yet  he  may  not  be  a  minister  of  Christ.  I  do 
not  believe  in  the  infallibility  of  the  people  any  more  than  in  the 
infallibility  of  the  patron.  Christ  alone  can  create,  Christ  alone 
can  commission  a  minister,  and  it  is  an  invasion  of  his  royal  pre- 
rogative to  think  that  any  one  form  is  infallibly  successful,  or 
that  it  alone  may  be  used  for  the  appointment  of  ministers  of  the 
gospel. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  as  Messiah  the  Prince,  it  is  as  Christ 
the  King,  that  he  gives  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him. 
As  a  Priest  he  opened  up  the  way  for  the  descent  of  that  Spirit ; 
as  a  King  he  commissions  and  sends  forth  that  Holy  Spirit  unto 
them  that  ask  him.  Pentecost  is  the  evidence  of  the  kingly  office 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  regeneration  in  the  individual  heart  is 
the  impress  struck  by  the  King  of  Glory,  Messiah  the  Prince. 
Every  true  Christian  is  a  current  coin  of  that  royal  realm,  on 
which  Christ  has  struck  the  image  and  superscription  of  himself. 
Wherever  you  see  a  Christian,  you  have  there  the  evidence  that 
Christ  reigns;  wherever  a  regenerated  heart  beats,  there  you 
have  a  proof  that  Messiah  the  Prince  lives,  and  sits  upon  his 
throne  a  Prince  and  an  Intercessor. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  in  his  kingly  capacity  that  Christ  will 
decide  at  the  judgment  day.  You  recollect  the  very  words  that 
he  uses :  "■  Then  shall  the  King  say  to  them  on  his  right  hand, 
Come,  ye  blessed ;"  "  Then  shall  the  King  answer  and  say  unto 
them,  Verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 


THE   MESSIAH   THE    PRINCE.  401 

one  of  these  little  ones,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  It  is  in  his 
royal  capacity — it  is  as  Messiah  the  Prince,  that  Christ  pronounces 
the  everlasting  doom  of  the  lost,  and  declares  the  everlasting 
and  irreversible  destiny  of  the  saved.  It  is  the  King  that  says, 
and  it  is  therefore  a  royal  word,  "  Come,  ye  blessed ;''  it  is  the 
King  that  says,  and  therefore  it  is  a  royal  decree,  '^  Depart,  ye 
cursed."  At  that  royal  sound  all  that  sleep  in  their  graves  shall 
instantly  awake :  the  particles  of  dust  that  float  upon  the  wind 
shall  become  consolidated  into  organized  frames :  the  very  gases 
that  mingle  with  the  atmosphere,  and  are  absorbed  by  the  streams 
of  the  earth,  shall  come  out  distinguished  and  eliminated  at  that 
royal  bidding,  and  form  the  bodies  of  the  risen  saints  of  the  Most 
High.  That  royal  sound  shall  pierce  the  pyramids  where  the 
Ptolemys  sleep ;  it  shall  enter  the  grave  where  the  dust  of  the 
beggar  rests ;  it  shall  come  with  its  reverberation  into  the  ancient 
urn,  and  stir  the  ashes  of  the  long-silent  dead ;  and  all — the  beg- 
gar under  the  green  turf,  the  prince  in  his  mausoleum  of  marble 
or  of  brass,  shall  come  forth  with  equal  readiness  to  answer  for 
the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  to  Messiah  the  Prince,  to  Christ  the 
King.  He  then  shall  pronounce  the  rewards  and  punishments 
of  the  last  day ;  and  he  alone  can  do  it.  Man,  as  a  king,  a  legis- 
lator, or  a  judge,  can  punish  for  outward  acts  that  outwardly  con- 
travene the  laws  of  the  land ;  but  Christ  alone  has  power,  and  he 
claims  it  as  his  exclusive  prerogative,  to  punish  for  inward  senti- 
ments, emotions,  convictions,  passions,  desires.  Man,  the  legis- 
lator or  judge,  may  and  will  punish  the  subject  that  breaks  the 
laws ;  but  no  king  upon  the  earth  may  put  his  royal  hand  into 
that  holy  place  called  the  conscience,  even  in  the  bosom  of  the 
poorest  beggar ;  it  is  too  sacred  for  kings  to  touch ;  its  solemn 
nature  is  too  awful  for  legislators  to  intermeddle  with :  and  the 
prince  or  magistrate  that  persecutes  a  person  for  the  opinions  that 
he  holds,  however  erroneous  these  opinions  may  be,  not  only  in- 
trudes on  the  prerogative  of  Messiah  the  Prince,  but  he  conse- 
crates the  error  in  the  eyes  of  thousands,  and  elevates  the  sufferer 
into  the  dignity  of  a  martyr  for  the  rights,  the  liberties,  and  the 
privileges  of  mankind.  Persecution  never  put  down  an  error, 
and  it  never  promoted  a  truth  ',  we  have  far  better  weapons ;  we 

want  it  not;  if  we  dare  use  it,  we  will  not,  it  is  too  weak  :  "  The 

3i* 


402  PROriiETIC    STUDIES. 

weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  migldi/,  througli  God, 
to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds/^ 

This  leads  me  to  remark,  in  the  next  place,  that  this  kingly 
office  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  just  as  intransferable  as  his 
priestly  office.  What  is  not  the  least  sin  of  the  Church  of  Home? 
and,  in  its  degree,  of  the  Tractarian  party  ?  Just  this — that  they 
claim  for  the  church,  as  a  visibly  organized  body,  the  functions 
of  prophet,  priest,  and  king;  they  speak  of  the  church — mean- 
ing by  the  church  practically  the  heierarchy — as  if  it  were  the 
prophet,  priest,  and  king  of  the  people;  while  the  pope,  with 
greater  consistency,  but  with  intenser  blasphemy,  calls  himself 
the  prophet  of  the  church,  the  high-priest  of  the  church,  and  the 
king  of  the  church,  and  wears,  as  thx)  demonstration  that  he  is 
so,  the  tiara,  or  the  threefold  crown,  that  stamps  him  in  his  own 
view  to  have  the  threefold  functions — that  proclaims  him  in  our 
view  to  be  the  antichrist,  "  sitting  in  the  temple  of  God,  and 
showing  himself  as  if  he  were  God.'^  No  pastor  in  the  church 
may  lawfully  assume  to  be  a  king  in  it,  any  more  than  he  may 
assume  to  be  a  priest  in  it.  The  function  of  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  is  purely  pastoral ;  it  is  not  in  the  least  degree  regal.  You, 
my  dear  friends,  the  communicants  and  worshippers  in  this  church, 
are  not  mij  suhjccls,  and  I  am  not  ?/oiu'  lord  ;  you  are  my  friends 
and  brethren,  and  I  am  your  servant  for  Christ's  sake.  I  am  not 
appointed  by  the  Great  King  to  lord  it  over  the  heritage  of  God; 
but  I  am  appointed  and  commissioned  by  him  to  feed  the  flock 
of  Christ  which  he  has  intrusted  unto  me.  My  function  is  pas- 
toral, not  regal;  it  is  the  shepherd's  crook,  not  the  monarch's 
sceptre.  In  the  next  place,  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  the  Messiah  the 
Prince,  is  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  the  "  Prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth.''  All  kings  are,  or  ought  to  be,  his  subjects,  respon- 
sible to  him  for  the  dutifulness  with  which  they  serve  and  obey 
him ;  and  as  his  subjects,  and  ministers,  and  servants,  their 
mighty  influence  should  be  consecrated  to  his  glory,  and  to  the 
advancement  of  his  truth. 

He  is  also  calkd  in  Scripture  the  "•  Prince  of  life.''  What  an 
epithet  is  that !  Christ  is  the  Prince  of  life.  The  kings  of  this 
world  cannot  perpetuate  life;  the  mightiest  sovereign  of  the  might- 
iest empire  must  lie  down,  and  turn  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  die 


THE   MESSIAH   THE   TRINCE.  403 

as  one  of  the  meanest  of  the  people.  The  bones  and  the  ashes 
of  royalty  are  scattered  through  every  land ;  death  enters  as  un- 
ceremoniously royal  palaces  as  poor  men's  hovels,  and  beats  with 
equal  foot*  at  the  doors  of  both.  But  Jesus  can  say,  "I  live, 
and  was  dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  for  evermore;"  Jesus  can 
say,  ''I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life;  he  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live.''  Christ  gives  life ; 
he  assumes  to  do  so ;  he  proclaims  himself  the  Prince  of  life  : 
he  that  does  so  is  either  God  or  is  a  blasphemer;  but  ''we  know 
in  whom  we  have  believed,'^  and  that  when  he  called  himself  the 
Prince  of  life,  he  claimed  the  glory  that  is  justly  due  to  him,  and 
is  exclusively  his  own. 

The  Lord  Jesus  is  proclaimed  in  Scripture  not  only  the  Prince 
of  life,  but  he  is  also  the  Prince  of  peace.  There  was  a  contro- 
versy between  Grod  and  man ;  not  that  G  od  had  changed,  but  that 
man  had  become  guilty ;  conscience  felt  its  sin,  foresaw  and  fore- 
boded the  advent  of  its  Judge,  and  it  trembled.  But  Christ,  hav- 
ing come,  has  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his  covenant,  and  con- 
stituted himself  the  Prince  of  peace.  And  now  it  comes  to  pass 
that  that  which  satisfies  the  justice  of  God  is  also  able  to  satisfy 
the  conscience  of  man.  Nothing,  my  dear  friends,  can  satisfy  my 
conscience  except  that  blood  that  gave  satisfaction  to  the  justice 
and  the  holiness  of  God.  If  we  wish  national  peace,  social 
peace,  domestic  peace,  universal  peace,  we  never  can  secure  it  by 
conventionalism,  by  organization,  by  eloquent  eulogia  on  peace, 
by  animated  pictures  of  its  glories  and  its  beauties  :  the  only 
basis  on  which  peace  can  grow  is  the  basis  of  righteousness  and 
truth ;  there  can  no  more  be  peace  without  the  Prince  of  peace 
than  there  can  be  light  without  the  sun,  or  the  beating  heart 
without  the  life-blood  circulating  through  it.  The  true  way,  then, 
to  have  universal  peace,  is  to  have  universal  Christianity.  The 
right  way  to  render  soldiers,  which  some  so  declaim  against, 
(though  I  doubt  if  it  is  more  sinful  to  be  a  soldier  than  to  be  a 
lawyer ;  I  question  if  a  lawyer's  weapons  are  not  often  as  un- 
christian as  a  soldier's,)  altogether  and  in  all  concerns  unnecessar}^, 


* JEquo  pede  pulsat 

Pauperuni  tabernas  rcgumque  turres."' — Horace. 


404  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

and  to  turn  the  bayonet  into  the  pruning-hook,  to  hang  the  clarion 
in  the  hall,  and  let  nations  hear  the  roll  of  war's  conquering  drum 
no  more,  is  not  to  dismiss  the  army,  but  to  preach  and  promote 
among  civilians  the  knowledge  of  him  who  is  the  Prince  of  peace, 
and  under  whose  shadow  and  sceptre  alone  there  can  be  permanent 
and  blessed  peace.  '^  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked  -^  preach 
it  as  you  like,  individuals  and  nations  must  become  Christians 
before  they  can  enjoy  or  maintain  peace.  Spread  Christianity, 
and  there  will  be  peace ;  recognise  Christ  as  the  true  Melchisedek, 
the  King  of  righteousness,  and  you  will  soon  have  Jesus  as  the 
true  Melchisalem,  the  Prince  of  peace.  Bow  before  the  sceptre 
of  Christ  the  King,  and  you  will  soon  live  under  the  olive-branch 
of  the  Prince  of  peace. 

As  Christ  the  King  has  a  kingdom,  we  may  inquire  what  it 
is  ?  It  is  not,  as  some  seem  to  misapprehend,  meat  and  drink. 
The  apostlo  says,  '^The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  nor  drink, 
but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. '^  It  is, 
therefore,  neither  fasting  nor  feasting,  neither  rubric  nor  rite,  nor 
ceremony;  these  things  maybe  too  few  or  they  may  be  too  many; 
they  may  be  too  severe  or  they  may  be  too  gorgeous ;  they  are 
but  the  shells,  the  husks ;  they  are  not  the  substantial  elements 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Nor  is  that  kingdom  Episcopacy,  nor 
is  it  Presbytery,  nor  is  it  Congregationalism ;  nor  is  it  immersion, 
nor  is  it  sprinkling,  nor  is  it  baptism  in  infancy  nor  in  maturer 
years :  these  things  may  be,  or  they  may  not  be ;  they  may  be 
good  or  they  may  be  bad,  or  they  may  be  indifferent;  but  they  are 
not  the  substantial  elements  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  it  flourishes 
and  spreads  without  them,  often  in  spite  of  them,  for  it  is  some- 
thing stronger  and  higher  than  them  all — it  is  righteousness  with- 
out us,  which  is  Christ's ;  righteousness  within  us,  which  is  the 
Spirit's ;  the  righteousness  which  is  imputed  and  perfect,  and  by 
which  we  are  justified ;  the  righteousness  which  is  imparted  and 
imperfect,  and  by  which  we  are  sanctified — the  one  our  title,  the 
other  our  fitness  for  heaven.  And  it  is  "peace;''  peace  with  con- 
science, peace  with  our  brethren,  peace  with  God  and  with  all  the 
universe  besides.  And  it  is  "joy.''  It  begins  in  righteousness, 
it  grows  in  power,  it  spreads  in  peace,  it  culminates  in  beauty,  iu 
glory,  and  in  joy :  it  is  planted  as  a  seed  in  the  individual  heart; 


THE   MESSIAH    THE   TRINCE.  405 

it  germinates  and  grows/  till  upon  the  mountain-tops  it  waves 
wdtli  fruit  like  Lebanon,  and  the  whole  earth  is  covered  with  the 
harvest  of  its  glory.  The  existence  of  this  kingdom  upon  earth, 
the  elements  of  which  I  have  tried  to  define,  is  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  a  divine  royalty  in  the  midst  of  it.  It  is  a  kingdom 
that  derives  no  nutriment  from  the  earth ;  it  is  not  of  the  world, 
though  it  is  in  it.  Left  to  itself,  Christianity,  with  all  its  excel- 
lence, would  have  expired  long  ago.  It  is  as  necessary  that  the 
King  should  be  upon  his  throne  in  the  midst  of  his  church,  as  it 
is  that  the  High-Priest  should  be  by  his  altar  in  the  midst  of  it ; 
it  is  as  necessary  that  Christ's  sceptre  should  be  over  the  towers 
of  Zion,  as  that  Christ's  cross  should  be  set  forth  in  its  creeds, 
and  sermons,  and  prayers,  and  services.  No  professions,  no  rites, 
no  ceremonies,  no  polity  could  save  a  living  church  from  destruc- 
tion, if  Christ  were  to  cease  to  be  true  to  that  promise,  "  Lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."  But  because 
the  king  has  been  in  it,  no  weapon  formed  against  it  has  pros- 
pered. Heresy  has  tried  to  corrupt  it ;  power  has  sought  to  ex- 
tirpate it.  Like  a  tender  flower  amid  the  Alpine  snows — like  a 
tiny  spark  amid  the  billows  of  the  sea — like  the  ark  with  Moses 
in  it  amid  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  with  mighty  forces  gathered 
round  ready  to  overwhelm  it,  has  the  church  of  Christ  been  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  and  in  the  experience  of  mankind.  His 
commission,  '■'■  Go  and  preach,"  was  a  royal  one ;  his  promise, 
^'  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,"  is  equally  a  royal  one.  This  king- 
dom, it  is  true,  is  not  outward  and  visible  :  the  soul  is  the  seat  of 
its  power;  its  victories,  its  glories,  its  achievements  are  all  there. 
And,  blessed  be  God,  this  kingdom,  invisible  to  sight,  but  real  to 
faith,  and  hope,  and  joy,  and  to  every  Christian  heart,  is  a  broad 
and  comprehensive  one ;  it  is  not  restricted  to  a  sect,  but  compre- 
hends many  of  every  name ;  it  is  not  limited  to  the  world,  but 
stretches  beyond  the  stars.  Europe  is  not  all  Christendom ;  Eu- 
rope, Asia,  Africa,  and  America  are  not  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom )  Christendom  stretches  into  eternity ;  we  have  brethren 
beside  the  throne  who  drink  of  the  stream  as  it  bursts  from  the 
fountain,  while  we  drink  of  the  same  stream  as  it  flows  by  the 
footstool.  Christendom  comprehends  saints  in  triumph  and  saints 
that  are  militant — heaven  and  earth,  in  short,  all  God's  people. 


406  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

The  entrance  into  tliis  kingdom — v/hat  is  it  ?  A  way  so  broad 
that  there  is  no  criminal  in  this  audience  (if  such  there  be  here) 
that  may  not  enter;  and  yet  a  way  so  holy  that  he  must  lay 
down  his  criminality  the  instant  that  he  takes  a  single  step  upon 
it.  The  way  into  this  kingdom  is  not  by  gold,  nor  frankincense, 
nor  myrrh — these  cannot  buy  it ;  politicians  cannot  create  it:  it 
is  Christ  alone  its  title,  regeneration  by  the  Spirit  alone  the  fitness 
for  it. 

The  law  of  this  realm,  the  true  Christendom — what  is  it  ?  It 
is  not  law,  it  is  love;. its  subjects,  we  are  told,  love  one  another. 
Jesus  governs  by  love ;  it  is  the  pavilion  of  his  power,  it  is  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  it  is  the  badge  of  his  subjects,  it  is  the  cohe- 
sion of  his  own  grand  and  mighty  kingdom.  One  law  governs 
the  clouds  in  the  air,  and  binds  the  worlds  to  the  sun  :  one  in- 
stinct guides  the  emigrant  birds  from  home,  and  back  to  home 
again  :  so  one  passion — love — guides  and  governs  all  the  sub- 
jects of  Christ,  and  his  kingdom  coheres  and  moves  in  harmony, 
because  they  have  learned  to  love  Christ  and  to  love  one  another. 

And  this  kingdom  comes  quietly.  Jesus,  when  he  walked  in 
Palestine,  was  surrounded  by  no  pomp  or  parade ;  he  shot  forth 
no  blazing  and  sensuous  splendour  on  those  that  were  around 
him ;  he  came  as  his  kingdom  comes — like  the  rain  upon  the 
mown  grass,  as  the  showers  that  water  the  earth.  This  kingdom, 
made  up  of  righteousness,  joy,  and  peace,  comes  like  the  sweet 
of  spring — gentle,  soft,  yet  persistent.  The  seed  sown  in  tears, 
watered  with  blood,  grows  up  quietly  while  men  sleep,  and 
while  men  wake.  Satan  fcills  from  heaven  like  a  flash  of  light- 
ning, or  the  thunderbolt ;  but  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  from  hea- 
ven descending  like  a  gentle  dove.  The  kingdom  of  sin  passes 
away  like  a  fierce  whirlwind  :  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  comes  softly 
like  the  morning  light  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the 
perfect  day. 

Brethren,  are  you  the  subjects  of  Messiah  the  Prince  ?  Are 
you  members  of  this  divine  kingdom,  this  holy  company,  this 
happy  fellowship  ?  All  members  of  all  visible  churches  are  not 
so ;  all  baptized  men,  however  baptized,  are  not  so.  There  are 
good  fishes  and  bad  in  the  net ;  there  are  tares  and  wheat  in  the 
visible  church.     Salvation  is  not  union  to  a  church,  but  union  to 


THE   MESSIAH   THE   PRINCE.  407 

Christ.  To  belong  to  this  kingdom  is  to  be  renewed  in  hccirt, 
and  not  merely  to  be  baptized  by  man.  And  they  who  are  the 
subjects  of  it  are  those  Thessalonians  of  whom  we  read  that  they 
have  ''the  work  of  faith,  the  hibour  of  love,  the  patience  of 
hope,"  who  are  chosen  in  Christ,  who  are  missionaries  to  all  that 
are  around  them,  who  are  patiently  waiting  for  the  Son  of  God 
from  heaven.  Are  you  subjects  of  this  King  ?  Do  you  love  his 
law  ?  Do  you  feel  in  your  heart  that  law  which  is  love  ?  ''  If 
any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'^  it  matters  not  whether 
he  be  a  churchman  or  a  dissenter,  "  he  is  none  of  his.''  If  we 
love  him,  and  love  the  brethren  as  he  hath  given  us  command- 
ment, we  are  his.  And  wbat  a  glorious  king !  Bannibal  con- 
quered, and  is  gone;  his  existence  is  a  fact,  a  dead  fact,  and  no 
more.  Caesar  reigned,  and  is  gone ;  his  reign  is  a  fact,  a  dead 
fact,  and  no  more.  But  Jesus  lived,  and  lives ;  his  reign  is  a 
living  and  ever-governing  fact ;  he  reigned,  and  reigns ;  fresh  and 
actual  is  his  sceptre  to-day  as  when  first  he  proclaimed  his  king- 
dom. His  kingdom  sinks  not  into  sands  of  oblivion,  it  is  ob- 
structed by  no  power,  it  grows  in  beauty,  it  spreads  in  influence ; 
and  very  soon  we  shall  behold  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  the 
land  that  is  afar  oJEf ;  and  he  shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea, 
and  all  shall  bless  him,  and  shall  be  blessed  in  him;  and  the 
prayers  of  his  people,  like  the  prayers  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse, 
will  then  be  ended. 

''With  anthems  of  devotion 

Ships  from  the  isles  shall  meet, 
And  pour  the  wealth  of  ocean 
In  tribute  at  his  feet. 

"For  ho  shall  have  dominion 
O'er  river,  sea,  and  shore ; 
Far  as  the  eagle's  pinion 

Or  dove's  light  wing  can  soar." 


408 


LECTURE   XXVIII. 


JERUSALEM     AND     THE    JEWS. 

"And  after  tlirecscoro  and  two  wcelcs  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for 
himself:  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and 
the  sanctuary;  and  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the  end  of 
the  war  desolations  are  determined.  And  he  shall  confirm  the  covenant  with 
many  for  one  week:  and  in  the  midst  of  the  week  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice 
and  the  oblation  to  cease,  and  for  the  overspreading  of  abominations  ho  shall 
make  it  desolate,  even  until  the  consummation,  and  that  determined  shall  bo 
poured  upon  the  desolate." — Daniel  ix.  26,  27. 

I  HAVE  sliown  by  a  previous  comparison  between  the  cliarac- 
teristics  of  the  work  of  the  Messiah,  as  predicted  in  the  24th 
verse  of  this  chapter,  and  the  actual  facts  that  are  recorded  of 
the  life  of  Jesus,  that  he  is  the  Messiah,  and  that  he  alone  has 
finished  the  transgression,  made  an  end  of  sin,  made  reconciliation 
for  iniquity,  brought  in  everlasting  righteousness,  sealed  up  the 
vision  and  the  prophecy,  and  is  anointed  now  the  most  Holy.  I 
showed  in  a  previous  discourse  that  not  only  did  a  comparison  of 
the  moral  characteristics,  as  they  are  unfolded  in  the  prophecy, 
and  find  a  counterpart  in  Jesus,  prove  him  to  be  the  Messiah; 
but  the  chronology  of  the  passage  no  less  unequivocally  attests  it. 
I  showed,  that  from  the  time  when  the  command  went  forth  in 
the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  as  recorded  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Ezra,  to  rebuild  Jerusalem,  to  the  manifesta- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  at  the  baptism  of  John  the  Baptist,  there 
elapsed  exactly  seventy  prophetic  weeks,  or  seventy  times  seven, 
or  490  years — minus  the  remaining  week,  (or  seven  years,)  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  was  to  be  cut  off.  I  showed  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  last  week  here  specified  the  Messiah  suffered.  I  gave  3'ou 
the  clear  and  irresistible  evidence  of  it  in  the  sudden  cessation  of 


JERUSALEM  AND   THE   JEWS.  409 

all  the  sacrifices  of  Levi ;  in  the  fact  that  Pilate  had  plundered 
the  high-priest  of  his  robes,  shut  them  up  in  the  tower  of  Anto- 
nia,  and  made  it  impossible  for  the  high-priest  to  offer  up  the 
great  sacrifice  appointed  by  law ;  in  the  fact  that  after  the  death 
of  Jesus,  and  the  desolation  of  the  temple,  the  Jews  were,  and 
are  still,  without  a  sacrifice,  without  an  altar,  without  a  high- 
priest.  In  short,  the  evidence  is  irresistible,  that  if  Jesus  be  not 
the  Messiah,  it  is  in  vain  that  the  Jews  look  for  another.  Many 
of  them  are  coming  to  this  conclusion.  I  have  heard  repeatedly, 
in  late  years,  that  on  the  continent  of  Europe  many  of  the  Jews 
are  become  skeptics,  casting  oit  even  the  hopes  of  Israel,  believ- 
ing that  all  has  been  false,  because  the  disappointment  is  so  bit- 
ter. But  it  is  when  their  hopes  shall  be  lowest  that  the  glory  of 
Israel  shall  rise  upon  them ;  it  is  at  eventide  that  it  shall  be  light; 
and  when  Israel's  depression  shall  be  the  deepest,  and  its  despair 
of  a  coming  Messiah  shall  have  reached  its  meridian,  then  shall 
he  come,  and  ^' shine  before  his  ancients  gloriously,'^  ^'sl  light  to 
lighten  the  G-entiles,  and  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel." 

In  this  lecture  I  wish  to  close  this  portion  of  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel,  on  which  I  have  spent  so  many  Sabbath  evenings,  by  re- 
ferring to  the  sequel  of  the  prediction  contained  in  these  verses — 
namely,  the  destruction,  desolation,  and  sweeping  away  of  Jeru- 
salem, its  temple,  and  all  its  glory.  It  is  expressly  predicted  in 
verse  26,  that  "  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come''  (that 
is,  the  Romans,  the  subjects  of  Titus  or  Yespasian,)  "shall  de- 
stroy the  city."  The  words  are  literally,  "  the  people  of  the  leader 
who  is  to  come."  Populus  was  the  distinctive  and  emphatic 
title  of  the  Romans.  Their  rulers  assumed  no  higher  title  than 
Imperator,  or  Ruler.  The  prediction  is  verbally  accurate,  and 
pre-allusive  in  every  respect.  It  was  ploughed  up,  according  to 
ancient  prophecy  :  the  ploughshare  literally  tore  up  its  walls ;  and 
as  to  the  sanctuary,  not  a  trace  of  that  temple  remains.  Is  it 
not  remarkable  that  while  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  was  the  most 
majestic  and  magnificent  erection  in  the  world,  surpassing  in  its 
splendour  even  the  temple  of  Diana,  far  surpassing  all  the  tem- 
ples that  remain  in  heathendom  in  strength,  in  grandeur,  in  fit- 
ness to  bear  the  wear  of  weather,  and  to  defy  the  fierce  tempest ; 
not  one  memorial  of  it  remains  above  ground  ?    The  only  2^ossibIe 


410  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

remain  is  a  large  stone,  noticed  by  a  deputation  that  visited  Jeru- 
salem, still  kissed  by  the  rabbis  that  go  there  for  the  first  time ; 
as  if  the  102nd  Psalm  could  not  contain  a  prophecy  without  its 
being  fulfilled — 

"  Thy  saints  [to  use  our  own  Scottish  version]  take  jjleasure  in  her  stones, 
Her  very  dust  to  them  is  dear." 

With  that  exception,  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  is  gone ;  yet  remains 
of  ancient  heathen  temples  are  traceable  everywhere.  But  when 
I  express  amazement  that  not  one  trace  remains,  why  should  I  ? 
The  Lord  of  all  truth  hath  said,  '■'■  Not  one  stone  shall  be  left 
upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down ;"  and  Daniel  said, 
'■'■  The  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,'' — that  is,  the  destruction 
of  this  city  and  of  its  temple  shall  not  be  a  gradual  thing.  The 
Parthenon  at  Athens  has  been  gradually  wasting  by  winds,  rains, 
and  storms,  and  fragments  of  it  are  in  the  Louvre  in  Paris,  and 
in  the  British  Museum  in  London ;  the  great  theatres  or  amphi- 
theatres of  Home  are  still  wasting  and  mouldering :  but  it  was 
prophesied  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  that  "  the  end  thereof 
shall  be  with  a  flood" — its  last  trace  should  be  utterly  swept 
away;  '•'■  and  unto  the  end  of  the  war" — that  is  God's  war  against 
that  race — ^^desolations  are  determined,"  that  is,  no  one  need  try 
to  rebuild  it.  It  is  a  very  remarkable  history — whether  true  or 
not,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  it — that  Julian  the 
apostate,  learning  from  the  Christians  that  Grod  had  predicted  the 
final  destruction  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  it  should 
never  be  rebuilt  until  the  time  of  his  great  controversy  with  the 
Jews  should  be  finished,  and  they  should  be  recalled,  and  restored 
in  more  than  their  ancient  grandeur,  said  he  would  refute  that 
prophecy;  and  in  order  to  do  so,  he  appointed  workmen,  and  sup- 
plied money,  to  rebuild  the  temple.  The  record  of  ancient  writers 
is,  that  fire-balls  burst  in  all  directions  from  the  earth,  which 
alarmed  the  workmen,  and  made  them  cease.  Whether  the  oc- 
currence of  a  miraculous  obstruction  be  literally  true  or  not,  I 
cannot  say;  but  this  I  believe  is  true — that  the  attempt  was 
frustrated,  that  the  workmen  gave  it  up  in  despair,  and  that  Julian 
learned  that  one  word  of  the  everlasting  God  was  stronger  than 
the  legions  of  Cassar,  and  richer  than  all  the  treasures  of  imperial 
Borne. 


JERUSALEM  AND   THE   JEWS.  411 

Then  it  is  added  in  the  27th  verse,  that  after  the  sacrifice  and 
oblation  should  cease,  ^'  for  the  overspreading  of  abominations  he 
shall  make  it  desolate.'^  You  recollect  what  our  Lord  says  when 
predicting  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem :  ^'  When  ye  therefore 
shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the 
prophet,  standing  where  it  ought  not."  Now  this  literally  took 
place ;  for  we  read  that  the  standards  of  the  Romans  were  placed, 
not  only  on  the  battlements  and  walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  in  the 
very  ''  holy  place''  itself,  where  the  altar  was,  and  while  sacrifices 
were  being  offered.  The  eagles  of  imperial  Eome,  which  orna- 
mented the  standards  of  the  Romans,  bare  in  their  talons  the  so- 
called  thunderbolts  of  the  heathen  god  Jupiter ;  these  standards 
contained  also  the  images  of  the  gods  and  of  the  emperors,  and 
as  such,  divine  honours  were  paid  to  them.  To  these  gods  and 
images  pourtrayed  upon  the  standards  of  Rome,  planted  on  the 
altar  where  the  cherubim,  and  the  glory,  and  the  mercy-seat  once 
were,  sacrifices  were  actually  offered  up  by  the  heathen  priests  at 
the  time  that  Titus  was  hailed  as  the  emperor  of  the  Romans,  and 
the  soldiers  were  present  witnessing  this  desecration  of  the  holy 
place,  this  overspreading  of  the  abomination  that  made  desolate, 
this  last  blow  that  finished  the  polity  and  closed  the  majestic  his- 
tory of  the  most  wonderful  race  that  sun  ever  shone  upon.  "For 
the  overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make  it  desolate,  even 
until  the  consummation" — that  is,  either  the  consummation  of  its 
existence,  or  the  consummation  of  the  period  determined  for  its 
overthrow — "and  that  which  is  determined" — that  amount  of 
wrath  is  determined — "  shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate ;"  and 
then  after  that  Israel  shall  be  restored. 

Now,  this  prediction  in  Daniel  was  that  which  awed  and  irri- 
tated the  Jew.  Every  Jew  regarded  Jerusalem  as  the  most  sa- 
cred spot  upon  the  earth ;  the  very  stones  of  the  noble  temple 
were  dear  to  the  Jew;  its  very  dust  was  sacred  to  him,  David 
said,  (what  was  only  the  prevailing  sentiment,)  "  If  I  forget  thee, 
0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning :  if  I  prefer 
thee  not  above  my  chief  joy,  let  my  tongue  cleave  unto  the  roof 
of  my  mouth.''  It  was  the  city  of  the  great  King;  it  was  the 
place  for  the  presence  of  the  Most  High ;  and  to  tell  the  Jew  that 
bis  temple  should  be  overthrown  was  almost  equivalent  to  telling 


412  PROPHETIC  STUDIES. 

a  Christian  Gentile  that  God  shall  be  dethroned  and  cease  to 
reign.  You  can  conceive,  therefore,  with  what  exasperation  the 
Jews  heard  reiterated  by  our  Lord  the  prophecy  of  their  ruin ; 
and  what  grounds  for  opposition  they  had  to  those  prophets  that 
specially  predicted  the  desolation  of  the  city  and  the  sanctuary, 
and  the  overspreading  of  abominations  which  should  make  it 
utterly  desolate. 

This  prophecy,  however,  of  Daniel,  was  not  the  only  prophecy 
of  this  kind  contained  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  :  it  is  the 
repetition  of  prophecies  that  were  uttered  at  least  a  thousand 
years  before  Daniel  wrote.  Moses,  who  had  yiewed  that  glorious 
land  from  Mount  Nebo,  who  believed  the  bright  promises  that 
related  to  its  future  prosperity  and  grandeur,  was  yet  inspired  by 
God  himself  to  predict  its  awful  desolation  in  these  words  :  "The 
Lord  will  make  thy  plagues  wonderful,  and  the  plagues  of  thy 
seed.  Moreover  he  will  bring  upon  thee  all  the  diseases  of 
Egypt,  which  thou  wast  afraid  of:  and  they  shall  cleave  unto 
thee.  Also  every  sickness,  and  every  plague,  which  is  not  written 
in  the  book  of  this  law,  them  will  the  Lord  bring  upon  thee,  until 
thou  be  destroyed.  And  ye  shall  be  few  in  number,  whereas  ye 
were  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for  multitude;  because  thou  wouldest 
not  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  that  as  the  Lord  rejoiced  over  you  to  do  you  good  3  so  the 
Lord  will  rejoice  over  you  to  destroy  you,  and  to  bring  you  to 
nought ;  and  ye  shall  be  plucked  from  off  the  land  whither  thou 
goest  to  possess  it.  And  the  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among  all 
people,  from  the  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other;  and 
there  thou  shalt  serve  other  gods,  which  neither  thou  nor  thy 
fathers  have  known,  even  wood  and  stone.  And  among  these  na- 
tions shalt  thou  find  no  ease,  neither  shall  the  sole  of  thy  foot 
have  rest :  but  the  Lord  shall  give  thee  a  trembling  heart,  and 
failing  of  eyes,  and  sorrows  of  mind :  and  thy  life  shall  hang  m 
doubt  before  thee  3  thou  shalt  fear  day  and  night,  and  shalt  have 
none  assurance  of  thy  life  :  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  say,  Would 
God  it  were  even  !  and  at  even  thou  shalt  say.  Would  God  it  were 
morainu !  for  the  fear  of  thine  heart  wherewith  thou  shalt  fear, 
and  for  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  which  thou  shalt  see.''  I  need 
not  quote  from  the  prophecies  of  Malachi,  nor  from  those  of  Je- 


JERUSALEM  AND   THE   JEWS.  413 

remiah;  all  corroborate  the  same  thing.  It  was  literally  true 
that  the  ^^  mothers  that  gave  suck  in  those  days/'  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  our  Lord,  felt  the  weight  of  the  predicted  "\fo."  It 
is  literally  true  that  the  very  priests  that  were  ofl&ciating  at  the 
altar  felt  the  vibrations  of  the  earthc|uake  that  was  undermining 
its  great  foundations  preparatory  to  the  invasion  of  Titus.  It  is 
perfectly  true,  that  the  high-priests  and  others  officiating  at  the 
altar,  as  recorded  by  Josephus,  (who  was  anxious  to  cover  the 
shame  and  magnify  the  glory  of  his  people,)  heard  sounding  from 
all  the  chambers  of  the  holy  place  mysterious  words  they  could 
not  comprehend,  and  were  unable  to  suppress,  ''Arise,  let  us  go 
hence.''  It  is  true  that  a  prophet  appeared  upon  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  while  it  was  undergoing  its  last  dread  siege,  and  cried 
for  a  whole  year,  ''Wo,  wo  to  Jerusalem!"  till,  smitten  down  by 
a  stone,  he  died,  crying,  "Wo  to  myself!''  on  which  Titus 
marched  into  the  midst  of  it,  and  laid  it  utterly  desolate.  When 
Titus  came  into  the  city,  even  after  it  had  been  sacked,  and  its 
streets  were  running  with  the  blood  of  its  slain,  and  the  Jews  with 
infatuated  fury  were  massacring  each  other,  and  women  eating 
their  first-born,  as  I  have  shown  before,  when  referring  to  the  ful- 
filment of  this  prophecy;  he  was  so  struck  with  the  splendour  of 
that  glorious  fane,  that  he  even  quailed  before  its  awful  majesty — 
60  quailed,  and  was  so  awed,  that  he  called  to  his  soldiers,  "What- 
ever you  destroy,  spare  this  temple,  and  the  holy  place."  But 
he  had  scarcely  said  so,  when  an  infuriated  soldier,  we  are  told 
by  Josephus,  threw  a  firebrand  into  the  midst  of  the  holy  place ; 
and  the  overshadowing  cherubim,  and  the  mercy-seat,  and  all  the 
glory  of  Israel,  perished  in  the  flames.  God  had  said,  "It  shall 
be  destroyed ;"  and  even  a  Titus  was  unable  to  avert  by  his  power 
what  G-od  had  predicted  in  his  infallible  word. 

The  present  state  of  Palestine  is  proof  of  the  fulfilment  of  the 
prediction  of  the  overspreading  abomination  and  its  utter  desola- 
tion. I  need  not  state  what  has  been  frequently  recorded  by  his- 
torians, what  is  indicated  in  almost  every  page  of  the  books  of 
Moses,  that  Palestine  was  a  land  of  unparalleled  fertility  and 
beauty  in  ancient  times.  It  was  called  the  land  that  overflowed 
with  milk  and  honey :  the  milk  indicating  the  number  and  the 
value  of  its  cattle,  and  the  honey  indicating  the  fragrance  and 

35* 


414  PKOPHETIC   STUDIES. 

the  number  of  its  flowers.  Grapes  were  so  abundant  in  tliat 
land  that  they  were  used  as  we  use  the  commonest  vegetables; 
the  mountain  sides  were  clothed  to  their  top  with  vines  3  it  was 
a  land  fitted  to  be  the  vineyard  and  the  granary  of  Asia  and 
Europe  together.  But  after  you  have  read  the  accounts  as  given 
by  Moses  of  its  wonderful  fertility^  and  also  the  predictions  of  its 
approaching  desolation,  on  visiting  that  land  you  will  find  that 
God  walks  the  fields  of  Palestine,  pointing  with  a  mj^sterious 
finger  to  every  nook,  and  stone,  and  acre,  and  ruin,  and  asking 
the  skeptic  infidel  that  goes  there  to  blaspheme,  or  the  infidel 
politician  that  doubts  its  coming  restoration,  "Is  not  my  word 
true?  and  is  not  all  I  prophesy,  like  all  I  promise,  yea  and 
amen?"  It  is  literally  true  that  in  this  land  the  sun  has  become 
like  brass,  and  rent  its  once  fertile,  but  now  parched  soil,  into 
thousands  of  fissures.  It  is  literally  true  that  its  rain  has  be- 
come powder  and  dust.  The  plague,  the  pestilence,  and  the 
famine  start  forth  on  their  dread  march  from  the  very  spot 
where  the  holy  place  and  the  cherubim  were.  Its  cities  are 
mouldering  in  the  sun;  its  population  has  become  thinner  every 
year;  tombs  are  traceable  on  almost  every  acre;  while  the  re- 
mains, as  noticed  by  historians,  indicate  that  it  was  once  the  city 
of  a  vast  and  teeming  population.  The  mystic  Euphrates,  which 
is  soon  to  be  dried  up,  has  overspread  the  whole  land  with  vast 
torrents  of  wandering  Turks  and  plundering  Arabs,  the  followers 
and  professors  of  the  religion  of  the  false  prophet.  You  recollect 
that  under  the  sixth  vial  it  is  said,  that  the  Euphrates  should 
be  dried  up :  I  showed  this  to  denote  the  waning  or  wasting  of 
Turkish  power  prior  to  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own 
land.  That  river  has  now  overspread  Palestine.  The  bare- 
footed monk  walks  where  the  temple  was;  the  muezzim  cries 
every  day  from  his  minaret,  "  There  is  but  one  God,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  his  prophet. '^  That  race,  scattered  throughout  the 
whole  earth — the  race  of  God's  ancient  people — have  but  to  read 
their  ancient  prophets,  and  then  visit  Palestine,  or  read  the  his- 
tory of  its  present  state,  to  learn  how  truly  God  has  spoken,  and 
how  terribly  they  themselves  have  been  punished.  A  traveller, 
celebrated  for  his  taste,  and  for  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius — I 
mean  Chateaubriand — writes  in  the  following  terms  of  the  pre- 


JERUSALEM   AND   THE   JEWS.  415 

sent  state  of  Palestine,  (I  quote  his  words  because  they  are  a 
commentary  upon  what  God  predicted :)  ^'  If  I  should  live  a 
thousand  years,  I  can  never  forget  that  desert  which  was  round 
about  Jerusalem,  which  seemed  still  as  inspired  with  the  majesty 
of  Jehovah  and  the  terrors  of  death.  We  travelled  laboriously 
amid  mournful  regions  to  attain  the  summit  of  a  hill  at  a  dis- 
tance before  us.  Arriving  here,  we  rode  for  another  hour  upon 
an  elevated  naked  plain,  sown,  as  it  were,  with  round  masses  of 
stone.  Suddenly,  at  the  extremity  of  this  plain  I  perceived  a 
line  of  Gothic  walls,  flanked  with  square  towers,  enclosing  appa- 
rently the  roofs  of  some  buildings.  At  the  foot  of  these  walls 
appeared  a  camp  of  Turkish  cavalry  [the  overflowing  of  abomi- 
nation] in  their  Oriental  pomp.  The  guide  instantly  exclaimed, 
^  Behold  the  holy  city !  Behold  Jerusalem  !'  The  most  extra- 
ordinary forms  of  objects  declare  it  to  be  on  all  sides  a  country 
which  has  groaned  under  miracles :  the  burning  sun — the  tierce 
eagle — the  barren  fig-tree — all  the  poetry  and  all  the  painting  of 
the  Scriptures  are  here.  Every  local  name  retains  within  it 
some  mystery^  every  cavern  speaks  of  futurity;  each  rocky 
height  reverberates  the  accents  of  some  prophecy  which  God 
himself  has  spoken  within  its  walls;  the  wasting  rivers,  the 
cloven  rocks,  j^awning  tombs,  attest  the  prodigy.  The  desert 
seems  still  stricken  dumb  with  terror,  as  if  it  had  not  yet  dared 
to  break  that  silence  which  was  felt  when  the  voice  of  the 
Eternal  had  been  heard."  Such  is  the  testimony  as  to  its  pre- 
sent condition  of  one  who  visited  it,  and  who  looked  upon  it 
with  a  poet's  and  a  Christian's  eye.  We  have  merely  to  read 
any  history  of  its  present  condition  to  see  how  completely  history 
is  an  echo  to  the  prophecies  of  God. 

While  speaking  of  Jemsalem^s  ruin,  we  cannot  but  notice  that 
that  ruin  has  a  limit.  It  is  to  be,  says  the  prophet,  ''until  that 
determined  shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate,'^  and  unto  the  end 
of  the  desolations  so  determined.  We  gather  from  this  that 
God's  anger  toward  Jerusalem  has  a  limit — nay,  we  are  certain 
it  has,  for  the  prophet  himself,  inspired  by  God,  has  declared, 
''  Whereas  thou  hast  been  forsaken  and  hated,  so  that  no  man 
went  through  thee,  I  will  make  thee  an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy 
of  many  generations.     Thou  shalt  also  suck  the   milk  of  the 


416  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

Gentiles,  and  shalt  suck  the  breast  of  kings:  and  tliou  shalt 
know  that  I  the  Lord  am  thy  Saviour  and  thy  Redeemer,  the 
mighty  one  of  Jacob.  For  brass  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron 
I  will  bring  silver,  and  for  wood  brass,  and  for  stones  iron :  I 
will  also  make  thy  officers  peace,  and  thine  exactors  righteous- 
ness. Violence  shall  no  more  be  heard  in  thy  land,  wasting  nor 
destruction  within  thy  borders;  but  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  Sal- 
vation, and  thy  gates  Praise.  The  sun  shall  be  no  more  thy 
light  by  day;  neither  for  brightness  shall  the  moon  give  light 
unto  thee :  but  the  Lord  shall  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting  light, 
and  thy  God  thy  glory.  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down;  nei- 
ther shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself:  for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine 
everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended. 
Thy  people  also  shall  be  all  righteous:  they  shall  inherit  the 
land  for  ever,  the  branch  of  my  planting,  the  work  of  my  hands, 
that  I  may  be  glorified.^'  Now  it  is  not  fair  to  take  this  pro- 
phecy from  Jeiiisalem,  and  apply  it  to  the  Gentile :  its  truths 
are  applicable  to  us  only  as  all  great  moral  and  spiritual  truths 
are;  it  relates  expressly  to  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem;  it  is 
meant  to  console  and  awaken  the  Jews  in  the  midst  of  their 
ruin;  and  at  this  moment  many  a  Jew  is  sustained  in  his  hopes, 
and  kept  peculiar  and  insulated  from  the  rest  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  because  in  the  records  of  the  desolation  of  his  ancient 
and  glorious  capital  he  reads  the  thrilling  prophecy  that  Jei-u- 
salem  shall  be  rebuilt,  and  that  the  Lord  shall  be  to  him  his 
everlasting  light,  and  his  God  his  glory. 

In  looking  at  the  whole  of  this  prophecy,  I  would  notice,  first 
of  all,  that  we  have  here  a  strong  evidence  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  prophet  Daniel.  What  he  so  minutely  predicted  has  been 
most  minutely  fulfilled.  The  inference  from  that  is,  that  that 
man  was  inspired  by  God  who  could  look  along  the  vista  of  600 
years,  who  could  specify  the  time  that  should  elapse  till  a  given 
event,  who  should  declare  what  was  done  by  and  in  that  event, 
who  should  proclaim  what  should  be  the  consequence  of  that 
event.  The  ceasing  of  the  daily' sacrifice ;  the  departure  of  all  ■ 
the  remains  of  ancient  glory  from  the  temple;  the  blasting, 
withering,  and  fading  of  the  fig-tree,  that  great  and  ancient 
memorial  of  Judah;  Titus  smiting  it  with  the  sword;  his  sol- 


JERUSALEM   AND  .THE   JEWS.  417 

diers  consuming  it  with  tlie  firebrands;  tlie  modern  synagogue 
standing  up  in  tlie  midst  of  every  capital — an  artificial  copy  of 
the  ancient  temple,  but  destitute  of  the  altar,  the  sacrifice,  the 
oblation,  the  priesthood, — are  all  standing  and  eloquent  proofs, 
not  only  that  God  is  the  God  of  truth,  but  that  Daniel  spake, 
as  other  holy  men  spake  of  old,  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

We  learn,  too,  that  the  great  cause  of  the  desolation  of  Jerusa- 
lem and  of  the  fulfilment  of  all  the  menaces  of  God  upon  it,  was 
not  the  decree  of  God,  but  their  own  sins.  God  had  predicted  its 
ruin,  but  his  prediction  did  not  bring  that  ruin  down  ;  it  was  the 
sins  of  the  people  that  paved  the  way  for  the  march  of  the  legions 
of  Titus ;  it  was  their  murdering  of  the  Lord  of  glory  that  was 
the  deed  which  consummated  their  crimes,  which  awoke  the  sleep- 
ing earthquakes,  and  made  the  sky  above  Palestine  to  be  as  brass, 
its  rains  to  be  as  dust,  its  cities  to  be  as  sepulchres,  and  the  only 
memorials  of  its  faded  magnificence  to  be  tombs,  wrecks,  and  ruin. 
It  was  sin,  not  God's  prediction,  that  laid  Jerusalem  low.  Our 
Saviour  only  echoed  the  ancient  prophecy  when  he  said,  "  O 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest 
them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered 
thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not!'^  And  over  that  great  city, 
as  over  the  grave  of  Lazarus — the  scenes  of  the  two  great  inci- 
dents in  the  history  of  Jesus — it  is  said  ^'  Jesus  wept" — wept 
when  he  saw  its  hopeless  ruin,  its  fading  glory,  its  perishing 
people,  their  rejection  of  the  gospel,  their  departure  and  apostasy 
from  the  living  God. 

We  learn  from  this,  too,  that  great  privileges  abused  ever  bring 
down  great  judgments  on  the  people  that  abuse  them.  Privileges 
do  not  commend  us  to  God;  they  commend  God  to  us.  No  people 
are  saved  because  they  have  privileges ;  they  are  only  made  thereby 
responsible.  The  greater  the  privileges  that  God  has  given  you, 
not  therefore  the  greater  the  safety  you  shall  have,  but  the  greater 
the  responsibility  that  rests  upon  you.  Chorazin,  Bethsaida,  Tyre, 
and  Sidon  perished  by  their  sins ;  but  when  Jerusalem  fell,  it  fell 
from  a  height  of  responsibility  and  privilege  to  which  Tyre  had 
never  reached,  and  therefore  its  fall  was  all  but  final.     When  aa 


418  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

angel  fails  he  becomes  a  fiend.     The  depth  of  our  ruin  is  in  the 
ratio  of  the  height  to   which  God's  goodness  and  our  privileges 
have  elevated  us.     If  God  spared  not  Jerusalem,  the  city  that  he 
loved,  when  Jerusalem  forsook  him,  God  will  not  spare  London, 
the  city  he  has  privileged,  when  London  proves  untrue  to  him.     It 
is  as  applicable  to  the  19  th  century  as  to  the  age  in  which  it  was 
first  uttered,  '^  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach 
to  any  people."     Sin  is  disorganization  -,  and  wherever  it  is  intro- 
duced, there  society  loses  all  its  cohesive  properties,  becomes  a 
rope  of  sand,  ready  to  fall  asunder  when  the  external  repressive 
power  that  keeps  it  together  is  for  a  moment  withdrawn.     But 
let  a  people  be    leavened  with  real  religion ;    let  our  homes  be 
vocal  with  prayer,  with  thanksgiving  and  praise;  let  our  churches 
be  pure,  steadfast,  protesting  against  apostasy,  and  maintaining 
truth ;  let  our  pulpits  resound  with  evangelical  religion ;  let  our 
people  of  all  classes,  and  in  all  ranks,  and  of  all  degrees,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  fear  God,  honour  his  ordinances,  and 
walk  before  him;    then    the  nation   will  have  in  its  bosom,  if 
any  nation  can  have  it,  the  element  of  immortality.     God  never 
forsakes  a  people  till  that  people  forsake  him.     Nations  rarely 
fall  by  external  assault ;  it  is  generally  by  internal  corruption. 
We  need  never  tremble  about  our  safety :  though  France  should 
send   afloat    yet    a  mightier  fleet    than    she  has  at    Cherbourg, 
though  Napoleon's  military  avalanches  should  again  rush  down 
from  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps,  though  popes  should  send  ship- 
loads of    cardinals,  our    island  may  rest  upon  the  waters,  and 
smile,  in    conscious  security,  while  our    country  cleaves  to  our 
country's  God.     But  let  irreligion,  pantheism,  popery,  and  infi- 
delity, and  drunkenness,  and  Sabbath-breaking,  and  all  the  sins 
that   do  abound — and,  I  fear    in    many    quarters,    increasingly 
abound — gain  the  mastery  ;  and  let  protesting  voices,  and  plead- 
ing cries,  and  praying   hearts   be    still ;  then  our  palladium  is 
gone,  the  shields  of  the  Lord  are  removed.     The  least  aggression 
will  ruin  the  country  that    has .  lost  God ;  the  mightiest  arma- 
ment shall  fail  to  scathe  it  when  God  is  recognised  as  its  strength, 
its  glory,  its  portion.     Bighteousness,  I  repeat,  exalteth  a  nation, 
and  sin  is  the  ruin  of  any  people. 

We  learn,  too,  that  when  sin  thus  runs  along  the  streets,  de- 


JERUSALExM   AND    THE   JEWS.  419 

grades  and  defiles  the  people  universally,  nothing  it  can  attempt 
can  save  it.  All  the  policy  of  imperial  Rome  3  all  the  manoeu- 
vring and  compromises  of  the  priests,  the  scribes,  and  the 
Sadducees;  all  the  coalitions  into  which  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
entered,  were  utterly  unable  to  avert  their  ruin ;  they  rather  con- 
tributed to  hasten  its  sure  and  certain  doom,  just  because  sin  was 
there.  So,  to  apply  it  to  other  nations ;  the  arms  and  squadrons 
of  Xerxes,  the  legions  of  Caesar,  the  armies  of  Napoleon,  did  not 
save  them ;  and  the  wooden  walls  of  England  will  not  guard  us, 
or  any  other  nation,  from  utter  ruin,  if  we  do  not  keep  ourselves 
in  the  faith,  the  fear,  and  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  When  I  speak 
of  national  religion,  I  do  not  mean  some  transcendental  view  of  it : 
one  way  for  us  to  have  national  religion  for  all  practical  purposes 
is  for  each  man  to  be  a  Christian.  It  is  not  by  struggling  to 
carry  some  measure  in  the  House  of  Commons,  however  valuable 
it  may  be,  that  we  shall  make  our  nation  Christian ;  it  is  by  each 
man  being  so.  One  brick  laid  upon  the  ground  does  more  to 
complete  a  building  than  a  thousand  castles  built  in  the  air.  One 
family  becoming  truly  and  decidedly  Christian  is  a  greater  con- 
tribution to  the  Christianity  of  our  land  than  the  most  brilliant 
act  of  Parliament :  I  do  not  undervalue  the  latter ;  yet  the  days 
for  getting  such  acts  are  ceasing,  whereas  the  days  for  being 
Christians  are  multiplying.  Never  were  men  more  called  upon 
than  in  the  present  day  to  ^'be  steadfast,  immovable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.'^ 

We  learn  from  all  these  predictions — to  leave  for  a  moment 
the  immediate  topic  under  review,  and  to  revert  to  all  we  have 
been  contemplating  in  the  nine  chapters  of  Daniel,  over  which  I 
have  so  rapidly  passed — what  man  is  without  true  religion.  The 
magi  of  Chaldea  showed  themselves  to  be  but  fools ;  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, Cyrus,  Belshazzar,  the  royal  despots  of  the  earth — how 
poor  are  they,  how  lustreless,  beside  the  quiet  grandeur  of  the 
prophet  Daniel,  and  the  three  Hebrew  youths  that  counted  not 
their  lives  dear  for  Christ's  sake !  The  gospel  elevates  the 
humblest  and  ennobles  the  highest;  to  the  grandeur  of  the  man 
it  adds  all  the  glory  of  the  saint,  and  makes  individuals  and 
nations  beautiful  in  that  real  and  only  beauty  which  the  king's 


420  PROPHETIC   STUDIES. 

daughter  alone  lias — the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  righteousness, 
and  truth. 

We  learn,  too,  how  God  rules  and  acts  in  all  the  affairs  of  men. 
The  great  image  was  the  shadow  of  what  all  history  is :  a  nation's 
dignity  was  merely  a  higher  or  lower  place  assigned  it  in  the 
great  image — being  clay,  or  iron,  or  silver,  or  gold,  as  God  might 
appoint.  The  same  God  that  ruled  in  Babylon  is  the  God  that 
rules  now.  "God  is,"  not  God-z^as;  or,  rather,  "Jehovah  is  his 
name ;  God,  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come." 

How  important  must  the  Saviour  have  been  felt  to  be  by 
Daniel ;  and  how  important  was  he  known  to  be  of  God,  seeing 
that  all  prophecy  is  literally  the  testimony  of  Jesus  !  Daniel 
cannot  close  a  great  cycle  in  his  prophecy  without  closing  it  with 
the  exhibition  of  the  Prince  the  Messiah ;  Isaiah's  liarp  never 
rises  to  its  noblest  strains  except  when  he  tunes  it  to  the  Name, 
and  sweeps  it  in  the  prospect  of,  a  coming  Messiah;  Malachi 
closes  the  Old  Testament  prophecy,  as  Daniel  closes  his  pre- 
dictions, by  giving  the  glad  hope  that  the  Messiah,  the  Sun  of 
righteousness,  was  about  to  rise  with  healing  under  his  wings. 
Christ  is  the  key-note  of  all  the  songs  of  David,  the  burden  of 
all  prophecy,  the  alpha  and  the  omega  of  the  whole  Bible. 

We  gather  another  lesson  also — that  the  same  religion  we  have, 
Daniel  had  :  he  was  as  much  a  Christian  as  Martin  Luther,  Cecil, 
Newton,  Whitefield,  or  any  other  great  and  distinguished  Chris- 
tian or  minister  of  Christ  in  modern  times.  There  never  was 
sanctioned  by  God  but  one  true  religion.  There  are  many  current 
religions;  there  is  and  has  been  but  one  that  bears  the  super- 
scription and  the  stamp  of  God.  There  is  the  religion  of  man, 
the  religion  of  the  priest ;  but  there  is  but  one  that  is  true — that 
is,  the  religion  of  God.  This  Christianity  is  as  truly,  if  not  as 
clearly,  in  the  Old  Testament  as  in  the  New.  Isaiah  was  as  truly 
an  evangelist  as  John ;  so  much  so,  that  he  has  been  called  the 
evangelical  prophet,  although  that  phrase  is  objectionable,  for 
Jeremiah,  Malachi,  and  Daniel  were  just  as  evangelical  as  Isaiah. 
They  all  proclaimed  one  Saviour ;  they  all  taught  one  sacrifice ; 
they  all  built  up  our  hopes  of  glory  upon  one  great  foundation, 
Christ  Jesus.  The  overshadowing  angels  on  the  mercy-seat,  like 
the   Old   and   New  Testaments,  while  the  tips  of  their  wings 


JERUSALEM    AND   THE   JEWS.  421 

touched  each,  other,  hoth  looked  down  upon  one  propitiatory  or 
mercy-seat  Like  the  twin  lips  of  an  oracle,  the  old  covenant 
and  the  new  equally  utter  and  announce  Christ  and  him  crucified 
as  the  great  substance  of  the  hopes  of  men. 

And  what  dignity,  let  me  add,  in  the  next  place,  does  this 
give  to  God's  word  -,  and  what  a  lowly,  though  an  important  place 
does  prophecy  impart  to  man's  history !  There  is  something 
wonderfully  striking  in  this — that  the  calendars  of  nations  are 
the  commentaries  on  the  prophecies  of  God's  word.  Whenever 
the  historian  is  wanted,  Josephus  steps  forth  from  his  country, 
and  Gibbon  emerges  from  the  shadow  of  the  Alps  where  he 
sojourned,  Alison  comes  from  the  north,  Hume  leaves  infidelity, 
and  each  sits  down  to  write  facts;  Christians  read  the  facts;  and 
lo !  they  are  the  rebounds  of  prophecy,  the  echoes  of  God's 
ancient  word;  and,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  the  skeptic 
Hume,  and  atheistic  Gibbon,  the  accomplished  and  Christian 
Alison,  the  Jew  Josephus,  attest  in  their  histories  that  God's 
word  is  true,  and  that  "holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.-"  So,  in  the  same  manner,  every  thing 
that  is  now  discovered,  every  thing  that  daily  occurs,  serves  more 
and  more  to  show  the  truth  of  God's  word.  Daniel  writes,  two 
thousand  years  ago,  that  toward  the  end  of  our  dispensation 
"  many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  increased ;" 
and  to  prove  Daniel's  prediction,  the  railway  appears,  and  with  it 
the  mysterious  whispering  wire,  that  knits  together  isles  and 
continents,  so  that  the  mother  in  London  will  yet  convey  mes- 
sages in  a  few  minutes  to  her  son  al  Calcutta,  and  receive  a 
message  in  reply;  all  spring  up  when  the  moment  comes,  to 
testify  how  truly  the  ancient  prophet  spake,  when  he  said,  "Many 
shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  increased.^' 

In  the  next  place,  how  humbling  to  great  men  are  the  truths 
embodied  in  the  word  of  God !  Hannibal,  Cassar,  Napoleon,  all 
the  great  generals  and  mighty  captains  that  have  successively 
stepped  upon  the  stage  to  win  splendour  for  their  names,  and 
glory  for  the  armies  of  their  country,  to  vindicate  injured  rights, 
to  deliver  oppressed  nations ;  came  forward,  as  they  meant,  to  do 
their  own  behests,  and  lo !  they  are  found  to  have  been  doing 
God's  word,  filling  up  the  great  outline  of  God's  predicted  and 

36 


422  PROPHETIC    STUDIES. 

pre-written  Providential  government;  and  so  Hannibal,  Caesar, 
Alexander,  and  Napoleon  were  but  the  pens  that  the  ready  writer 
used — but  the  chisels  in  the  hand  of  the  Great  Statuary,  as  he 
carved  out  in  history  what  he  had  so  clearly  predicted  in  ancient 
prophecy.  When  we  take  our  stand  on  prophetic  ground,  what 
composure,  what  quiet  does  it  give  us  to  see  this,  and  be  satisfied 
(and  I  am  as  satisfied  of  it  as  I  am  of  my  own  existence)  that 
all  things  are  going  right,  that  every  thing  is  evolving  its  appro- 
priate issue,  that  all  occurrences  are  stepping  in  to  fulfil  God's 
sure  word,  and  to  accomplish  God's  grand  purposes !  Do  not  be 
alarmed,  my  dear  brother,  when  a  leaf  shakes  with  the  wind,  as 
if  the  church  of  Christ  were  about  to  perish.  Do  not  suppose, 
when  nations  withdraw  their  endowments,  and  imperial  crowns 
their  shields,  from  the  Christian  church — when  popery  enters 
here,  and  infidelity  spreads  there,  and  divisions  and  exasperation 
abound  elsewhere,  that  the  church  of  Christ  is  about  to  fall.  It 
remains :  it  gathers  strength  from  the  wreck,  and  grandeur  from 
surrounding  ruin.  The  fracture  of  the  earthen  vessel  is  only  the 
letting  forth  of  the  inner  perfume ;  and  the  noise  and  quarrels 
and  debates  that  we  hear  are  not  the  overturning  of  the  glorious 
fabric ;  they  are  only  the  settling  of  its  sure  and  its  everlasting 
foundation.  Let  us  then  acquaint  ourselves  with  God,  and  with 
God  especially  as  he  is  revealed  in  his  word,  and  be  at  peace. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  ask,  have  you  my  hearer,  my  reader,  an 
interest  in  Messiah  ?  Do  you  stand  in  him  as  the  stand-point 
from  which  you  can  review  all  the  movements  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth  ?  Is  it  well,  first,  with  thine  own  soul  ?  and  if  it  be 
well  there,  by  its  being  washed  in  that  Saviour's  blood,  arrayed 
in  his  righteousness,  trusting  in  his  name;  then  be  still,  and  know 
that  he  is  God;  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  glory,  for  He  in  whom 
you  trust  has  engraven  you  on  the  palms  of  his  hands,  and  holds 
you  in  imperishable  remembrance. 


APPENDIX* 


DANIEL. 

"  The  predictions  of  things  to  come  relate  to  the  state  of  the 
church  in  all  ages ;  and  among  the  old  prophets,  Daniel  is  most  dis- 
tinct in  order  of  time,  and  easiest  to  be  understood ;  and,  therefore, 
in  those  things  which  relate  to  the  last  times,  he  must  be  made  the 
key  to  the  rest/' — Sir  Isaac  Neiotoii's  Observations  on  Daniel. 

"  The  Jews  do  not  reckon  him  (Daniel)  to  be  a  prophet,  and  there- 
fore place  his  prophecies  only  among  the  Ilagiographa ;  and  they 
serve  the  Psalms  of  David  after  the  same  rate.  The  reason  which 
they  give  for  it  in  respect  of  both  is,  that  they  lived  not  the  prophetic 
manner  of  life,  but  the  courtly ;  David,  in  his  own  palace,  as  king 
of  Israel,  and  Daniel  in  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  as  one 
of  his  chief  counsellors  and  ministers  in  the  government  of  that  em- 
pire. And  in  respect  of  Daniel  they  further  add,  that,  although  he 
had  divine  revelations  delivered  unto  him,  yet  it  was  not  in  the  pro- 
phetic way,  but  by  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night,  which  they 
reckon  to  be  the  most  imperfect  manner  of  revelation,  and  below 
the  prophetic." — Prideaux's  Connection.     Anno  534. 

"  Never  were  any  prophecies  delivered  more  clearly,  or  fulfilled 
more  exactly,  than  all  these  prophecies  of  Daniel  were.  Porphyry, 
who  was  a  great  enemy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  well  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  of  the  New,  acknowledged  this.  And  therefore  he 
contends  that  they  were  historical  narratives,  written  after  the  facts 
were  done,  and  not  prophetical  predictions,  foretelling  them  to  come. 
This  Porphyry  was  a  learned  heathen,  born  at  Tyre,  in  the  year  of 
Christ  233,  and  there  called  M^^lchus ;  which  name,  on  his  going 
among  the  Greeks,  he  changed  into  that  of  Porphyry,  that  signifying 

*  See  at  the  end  of  Rev.  Dr.  Nolan's  'Warburton  Lectures,  and  Rev.  P.  Miles* 
Lectures,  to  both  of  which  I  am  indebted  for  long  and  useful  notes. 

423 


424  APPENDIX. 

the  same  in  the  Greek  language  which  Malchusdid  in  the  Phoenician, 
the  language  then  spoken  at  Tyre.  lie  being  a  bitter  enemy  to  the 
Christian  religion,  wrote  a  large  volume  against  it,  containing  fifteen 
books,  whereof  the  twelfth  was  wholly  against  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel.  Those  concerning  the  Persian  kings  and  the  Macedonian 
that  reigned  as  well  in  Egypt  as  in  Asia,  having  been  all,  according 
to  the  best  historians,  exactly  fulfilled,  he  could  not  disprove  them 
by  denying  their  completion ;  and  therefore,  for  the  overthrowing  of 
their  authority,  he  took  the  quite  contrary  course,  and  laboured  to 
prove  their  truth ;  and  from  hence  alleged,  that  being  so  exactly  true 
in  all  particulars,  they  could  not  therefore  be  written  by  Daniel  so 
many  years  before  the  fiicts  were  done,  but  by  some  one  else  under 

his  name,  who  lived  after  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 

For  which  purpose,  he  made  use  of  the  best  Greek  historians  then 
extant.  Such  were  Callinicus  Sutorius,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Ilierony- 
mus,  Polybius,  Posidonius,  Claudius  Thcon,  and  Andronicus  Aly- 
pius ;  and  from  them  made  evident  proof  that  all  that  is  written  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  Daniel,  was  truly,  in  every  particular,  acted 
and  done  in  the  order  as  there  related ;  and  from  this  exactness  of 
completion,  endeavoured  to  infer  the  assertion  mentioned,  that  these 
prophecies  were  written  after  the  facts  were  done,  and  therefore  are 
rather  historical  narratives  relating  to  things  past,  than  prophetical 
predictions,  foreshowing  things  afterward  to  come.  But  Jerome 
turns  the  argument  upon  him,  and,  with  more  strength  of  reason, 
infers  that  this  way  of  opposing  these  prophecies  gives  the  greatest 
evidence  of  their  truth,  in  that  what  the  prophet  foretold  is  hereby 
allowed  to  be  so  exactly  fulfilled,  that  he  seemed  to  unbelievers  not 
to  foretell  things  to  come,  but  to  relate  things  past.  Jerome,  in  his 
Comments  on  Daniel,  makes  use  of  the  same  authors  that  Porphyry 
did ;  and  what  is  in  these  Comments  are  all  the  remains  which  we 
now  have  of  this  work  of  that  learned  heathen,  or  of  most  of  those 
authors  which  he  made  use  of  in  H." — Prideaux's  Connection.  Anno 
164. 


PEOPHECy   AND    HISTORY. 

"  Whatever  is  now  done  was  foretold  ;  whatever  is  now  seen,  was 
first  heard.  If  earthquakes  swallow  up  cities ;  if  islands  are  in- 
vaded by  the  sea ;  if  foreign  and  domestic  wars  distract  states ;  if 
kingdom  rises  up  against  kingdom ;  if  there  are  famine,  and  pesti- 
lence, and  slaughters  in  divers  places ;  if  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
mountains  lay  waste  many  regions ;  if  the  humble  are  exalted,  and 
the  lofty  laid  low;  if  justice  is  rare,  and  iniquity  abounds;  if  the 
regard  for  every  good  and  wholesome  discipline  waxes  cold ;  if  even 


APPENDIX.  425 

the  times  and  seasons  vary  from  their  appointed  order,  all  these  have 
been  predicted  by  the  Providence  of  God.  While  we  suffer  these 
calamities  we  read  of  them  ;  when  we  recognise  them  as  the  objects 
of  prophecy,  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures  which  predict  them  is 
proved.  The  daily  fulfilment  of  prophecy  is,  surely,  a  full  proof  of 
revelation.  Hence,  then,  we  have  a  well-founded  belief  in  many 
things  which  are  j^et  to  come,  namely,  the  confidence  arising  from 
our  knowledge  of  the  past,  because  some  events,  still  future,  were 
foretold  at  the  same  time  with  others  which  are  past.  The  voice  of 
prophecy  speaks  alike  of  each ;  the  Scriptures  record  them  equally ; 
the  same  Spirit  taught  the  prophets  both.  In  the  predictions,  there 
is  no  distinction  of  time ;  if  there  be  any  such  distinction,  it  is  made 
by  men ;  while  the  gradual  course  of  time  makes  that  present  which 
was  future,  and  that  past  which  was  present.  How  can  we,  then, 
be  blamed  for  believing  also  what  is  predicted  respecting  the  future, 
when  our  confidence  is  founded  upon  the  fulfilment  of  prophecies 
relating  to  the  present  and  the  past?^' — TJie  Aj)ulo(jij  of  TertuUian, 
eh.  XX.,  Chevallier's  trans. 


THE   FORCE    OF   PEOPHECY. 

"  Suppose  that,  instead  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy  breathing  more 
or  less  in  every  book  of  Scripture,  predicting  events  relative  to  a 
great  variety  of  general  topics,  and  delivering,  besides,  almost  innu- 
merable characteristics  of  the  Messiah,  all  meeting  in  the  person  of 
Jesus,  there  had  been  only  ten  men  in  ancient  times  who  pretended 
to  be  prophets,  each  of  whom  exhibited  only^re  independent  criteria 
as  to  place,  government,  concomitant  events,  doctrine  taught,  effects 
of  doctrine,  character,  sufferings,  or  death ;  the  meeting  of  all 
which,  in  one  person,  should  prove  the  reality  of  their  calling  as 
prophets,  and  of  his  mission  in  the  character  they  have  assigned 
him :  suppose,  moreover,  that  all  events  were  left  to  chance  merely, 
and  we  were  to  compute,  from  the  principle  employed  by  mathema- 
ticians in  the  investigation  of  such  subjects,  the  probability  of  these 
Jifty  independent  circumstances  happening  at  all.  Assume  that 
there  is,  according  to  the  technical  phrase,  an  equal  chance  for  the 
happening  or  the  failure  of  any  one  of  the  specified  particulars,  then 
the  probability  against  the  occurrence  of  all  the  particulars  in  any 
way,  is  that  of  the  50th  power  of  2  to  unity;  that  is,  the  probability 
is  greater  than  1125,000,000,000,000  to  1,  or  greater  than  eleven  hun- 
dred and  twenty-Jive  millions  of  millions  to  one,  that  all  these  circum- 
stances do  not  turn  up,  even  at  distinct  periods.  This  computation, 
however,  is  independent  of  the  consideration  of  time.    Let  it  then 

36* 


426  APPENDIX. 

be  recollected  further,  that  if  any  one  of  the  specified  circumstances 
happen,  it  may  be  the  day  after  the  delivery  of  the  prophecy,  or  at 
any  period  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  the  world ;  this  will  so  in- 
definitely augment  the  probability  against  the  contemporaneous  oc- 
currence of  merely  these  ffty  circumstances,  that  it  surpasses  the 
power  of  numbers  to  express  correctly  the  immense  improbability  of 
its  taking  place.  Be  it  remembered,  also,  that  in  this  calculation  I 
have  assumed  the  hypothesis  most  favourable  to  the  adversaries  of 
prophecy,  and  the  most  unfavourable  possible  to  the  well-being  of 
the  world  and  the  happiness  of  its  inhabitants ;  namely,  the  hypo- 
thesis that  every  thing  is  fortuitous  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  how  my  ar- 
gument is  strengthened  by  restoring  things  to  their  proper  state. 
If  every  thing  were  left  to  blind  chance,  it  appears  that  the  proba- 
bility against  the  fulfilment  of  only  fifty  independent  predictions  in 
the  same  time,  place,  and  individual,  would  be  too  great  to  express, 
numerically ;  how  much  greater,  then,  must  it  be,  in  fact,  when  all 
events  are  under  the  control  of  a  Being  of  matchless  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness,  who  hates  fraud  and  deception,  who  must  especially 
hate  it  when  attempted  under  his  name  and  authority,  Avho  knows 
all  that  occurs  in  all  places,  and  who  can  dissipate,  *  with  the  breath 
of  his  mouth,'  every  deceiver,  and  all  their  delusions?  The  more 
we  know  of  the  prophecies,  and  of  history,  whether  sacred  or  pro- 
fane, the  more  we  are  struck  with  the  correspondence  of  predictions 
and  events;  their  coincidence,  in  hundreds  of  instances,  is  so  pal- 
pably notorious  that  none  can  deny  it:  every  principle  of  reason, 
every  result  of  correct  computation,  instituted  with  a  view  to  this 
inquiry,  is  in  favour  of  the  positions  maintained  by  Christians  in  all 
ages.  Imagine  these  to  be  still  doubtful,  and  what  is  there  else  that 
is  stable  and  certain  V — Letter's  of  JDr.  OlintJuis  Gregory,  Letter  VI. 
(See  Emerson  on  Chances,  Prop.  3;  Wood's  Algebra,  Art.  419, 
Chances.) 


THE   FOUR   GREAT   EMPIRES. 

"  It  was  from  Daniel's  prophecy,  too,  that  the  distinction  first 
arose  of  the  four  great  empires  of  the  world,  which  hath  been  fol- 
lowed by  most*historians  and  chronologers  in  their  distribution  of 
times.  These  four  empires,  as  they  are  the  subject  of  this  prophecy, 
are  likewise  the  subject  of  the  most  celebrated  pens,  both  in  Ibrmer 
and  in  later  ages.  The  histories  of  these  empires  are  the  best  writ- 
ten, and  the  most  read  of  any ;  they  are  the  study  of  the  learned 
and  the  amusement  of  the  polite ;  they  are  of  use  both  in  schools 
and  in  senates ;  we  learn  them  when  we  are  young,  and  we  forget 


APPENDIX.  427 

them  not  when  we  are  old ;  from  hence  examples,  instructions,  laws, 
and  politics  are  derived  for  all  ages ;  and  very  little,  in  comparison, 
is  knovrn  of  other  times  or  of  other  nations." — Bisliop  Newton  on 
theFropTiecies,  Diss.  13. 


THE    STONE. 

"In  an  ancient  book  of  theirs,  written  hy  R.  Simeon  Ben  Jochai, 
the  author  interprets  this  stone,  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands,  to  be  the  same  with  him  who,  in  Gen.  xlix.  24,  is  called  the 
Shepherd  and  Stone  of  Israel;  as  it  is  by  Saadiah  Gaon,  a  later 
writer ;  and  in  another  of  their  writings,  reckoned  by  them  very 
ancient,  it  is  said  that  the  ninth  king  (for  they  speak  often)  shall  be 
the  King  Messiah,  who  shall  reign  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the 
other,  according  to  that  passage,  iJie  stone  iddcli  smote  the  image,  &c. 
verse  35;  and  in  one  of  their  ancient  Midrashes,  or  expositions,  it  is 
interpreted  of  the  King  Messiah :  and  so  E.  Abraham  Seba." — Dr. 
Gill's  Commentary  on  Daniel,  ii.  34. 


CITY    OF   BABYLON. 

"  And,  besides  these,  there  were  also  four  half-streets,  which  were 
built  but  of  one  side,  as  having  the  wall  on  the  other.  These  went 
round  the  four  sides  of  the  city,  next  the  walls,  and  were  each  of 
them  two  hundred  feet  broad,  and  the  rest  were  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  By  these  streets  thus  crossing  each  other,  the  Avhole  city 
was  cut  out  into  six  hundred  and  seventy-six  squares,  each  of  which 
was  four  furlongs  and  a  half  on  every  side,  that  is,  two  miles  and  a 
quarter  in  compass.  Round  these  squares,  on  every  side  toward  the 
streets,  stood  the  houses,  all  built  three  or  four  stories  high,  and  beau- 
tified with  all  manner  of  adornments  toward  the  streets.  The  space 
within,  in  the  middle  of  each  square,  was  all  void  ground,  employed 
for  yards,  gardens,  and  other  such  uses." — Prideaux.    Anno  570. 

"  For  the  further  securing  of  the  country,  Nebuchadnezzar  built 
also  prodigious  banks  of  brick  and  bitumen  on  each  side  of  the 
river,  to  keep  it  within  its  channel,  which  were  carried  along  from 
the  head  of  the  said  canals  down  to  the  city,  and  some  way  below  it. 
But  the  most  wonderful  part  of  the  work  was  within  the  city  itself; 
for  there,  on  each  side  of  the  river,  he  built  from  the  bottom  of  it  a 


428  APPENDIX. 

great  wall,  for  its  banks,  of  brick  and  bitumen,  -which  was  of  the 
same  thickness  with  the  walls  of  the  city ;  and,  over  against  every 
street  that  crossed  the  said  river,  he  made,  on  each  side,  a  brazen 
gate  in  the  said  wall,  and  stairs  leading  down  from  it  to  the  river, 
from  whence  the  citizens  used  to  pass  by  boat  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  which  was  the  only  passage  they  had  over  the  river,  till  the 
bridge  was  built  which  I  have  above  mentioned.  The  gates  were 
open  by  day,  but  always  shut  by  night.  And  this  prodigious  work 
was  carried  on,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  to  the  length  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  furlongs,  which  are  twenty  miles  of  our  measure,  and 
therefore  must  have  begun  two  miles  and  a  half  above  the  city,  and 
continued  down  two  miles  and  a  half  below  it ;  for  through  the  city 
was  no  more  than  fifteen  miles.''^ — Prideaux.     Anno  570, 

"Next  this  temple,  on  the  same  east  side  of  the  river,  stood  the  old 
palace  of  the  kings  of  Babylon,  being  two  miles  in  compass.  Ex- 
actly over  against  it,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  stood  the  new 
palace  ;  and  this  was  that  which  Nebuchadnezzar  built.  It  was  four 
times  as  big  as  the  former,  as  being  eight  miles  in  compass.  It  Avas 
surrounded  with  three  walls,  one  within  another,  and  strongly  forti- 
fied, according  to  the  way  of  those  times." — Ibid. 

"  These  eight  towers,  being  as  so  many  stories  one  above  another, 
'were  each  of  them  seventy-five  feet  high,  and  in  them  were  many 
great  rooms  with  arched  roofs,  supported  by  pillars The  up- 
permost story  of  all  was  that  which  was  most  sacred.  .  .  .  Over  the 
whole,  on  the  top  of  the  tower,  was  an  observatory,  by  the  benefit  of 
which  it  was  that  the  Babylonians  advanced  their  skill  in  astronomy 
beyond  all  other  nations.  .  .  .  For  when  Alexander  took  Babylon, 
Calisthenes,  the  philosopher,  who  accompanied  him  thither,  found 
they  had  astronomical  observations  for  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  three  years  backward  from  that  time :  which  carrieth  up  the 
account  as  high  as  the  one  hundred  and  fifteenth  year  after  the  flood, 
which  was  within  fifteen  years  after  the  tower  of  Babel  was  built. 
This  account  Calisthenes  sent  from  Babylon  into  Greece  to  his  mas- 
ter Aristotle,  as  Simplicius,  from  the  authority  of  Porphyry,  delivers 
it  unto  us  in  his  Second  Book  De  Coelo." — Ibid. 

**  This  stood  till  the  time  of  Xerxes,  (b.  c.  479  ;)  but  he,  on  his  re- 
turn from  his  Grecian  expedition,  demolished  the  whole  of  it,  and 
laid  it  all  in  rubbish,  having  first  plundered  it  of  all  its  immense 
riches,  among  which  were  several  images  or  statues  of  massy  gold." 
— Ibid.     See  Jer.  li.  44. 


APPENDIX.  429' 

"What was  most  wonderful  in  it  were  the  hanging  gardens,  which 
were  of  so  celebrated  a  name  among  the  Greeks.  They  contained  a 
square  of  four  plethra  (that  is,  of  four  hundred  feet)  on  every  side, 
and  were  carried  up  aloft  into  the  air,  in  the  manner  of  several  large 
terraces,  one  above  another,  till  the  highest  equalled  the  height  of 
the  walls  of  the  city.  The  ascent  was  from  terrace  to  terrace,  by 
stairs  ten  feet  wide.  The  whole  pile  was  sustained  by  vast  arches 
built  vipon  arches,  one  above  another,  and  strengthened  by  a  wall, 

surrounding  it  on  every  side,  of  twenty-two  feet  in  thickness 

On  the  top  of  the  arches  were  first  laid  large  flat  stones,  sixteen  feet 
long  and  four  broad,  and  over  them  was  a  layer  of  reed,  mixed  with 
a  great  quantity  of  bitumen,  over  which  were  two  rows  of  bricks, 
closely  cemented  together  by  plaster,  and  then  over  all  were  laid 
thick  sheets  of  lead :  and  all  this  floorage  was  contrived  to  keep  the 
moisture  of  the  mould  from  running  away  down  through  the  arches. 
The  mould  or  earth  laid  hereon  was  of  that  depth  as  to  have  room 
enough  for  the  greatest  trees  to  take  rooting  in  it ;  and  such  were 
planted  all  over  it  in  every  terrace,  as  were  also  all  other  trees, 
plants,  and  flowers,  that  were  proper  for  a  garden  of  pleasure.  lu 
the  upper  terrace  there  was  an  aqueduct  or  engine,  whereby  water 
was  drawn  up  out  of  the  river,  which  from  thence  watered  the  whole 
garden.^' — Frideaiix.    Anno  570. 


THE   SON  OF  MAN. 

"  This  Son  of  Man  the  Jews  themselves  confess  to  be  the  promised 
Messias,  and  they  take  the  words  to  signify  his  coming,  and  so  far 
give  testimony  to  the  truth ;  but  then  they  evacuate  the  prediction 
by  a  false  interpretation,  saying,  that  if  the  Jews  went  on  in  their 
sins,  then  the  Messias  should  come  in  humility,  according  to  the  de- 
scription in  Zachary,  loioly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  (ix.  9  ;)  but  if 
they  pleased  God,  then  he  should  come  in  glory,  according  to  the 
description  in  the  prophet  Daniel,  loith  the  clouds  of  heaven:  whereas 
these  two  descriptions  are  two  several  predictions,  and  therefore 
must  be  both  fulfilled.  From  whence  it  followeth,  that  being  Christ 
is  already  come,  lowly,  and  sitting  upon  an  ass,  therefore  he  shall 
come  gloriously  with  the  clovds  of  heaven.  For  if  both  those  de- 
scriptions cannot  belong  to  one  and  the  same  advent,  as  the  Jews  ac- 
knowledge, and  both  of  them  must  be  true,  because  equally  pro- 
phetical, then  must  there  be  a  double  advent  of  the  same  Messias.'' 
**  Indeed,  the  Jews  do  so  generally  interpret  this  place  of  Daniel  of 


430 


APPENDIX. 


the  Messias,  that  they  make  it  an  argument  to  prove  that  the  Messias 
is  not  yet  come,  because  no  man  hath  yet  come  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven/' — BisJioj)  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  Article  VII. 


THE   MILLENNIUM. 


"  That  the  kingdom  in  Daniel  and  that  of  1000  years  in  the  Apo' 
cahjpse  are  one  and  the  same  kingdom,  appears  thus  : — 

"  First.  Because  they  begin  ah  eodem  ter7Jiino,  namely  at  the  de- 
struction of  the  Fourth  Beast:  that  in  Daniel,  when  the  beast  (then 
ruling  in  the  wicked  horn)  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed  and 
given  to  the  burning  flame,  Dan.  vii.  II,  22,  27.  That  in  the  Apo- 
calypse, when  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  (the  wicked  horn  in 
Daniel)  were  taken,  and  both  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire,  burning 
with  brimstone,  Ajjoc.  six.  20,  21,  &c. 

"  Secondly.  Because  St.  John  begins  the  Regnum  of  a  thousand 
years  from  the  same  session  of  judgment  described  in  Daniel,  as  ap- 
pears by  his  parallel  expression  borrowed  from  thence. 


Daniel  says,  chap.  vii. 

Ver.  9.  I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were 
pitched  down  .  .  .  and  the  judg- 
ment (i.  e.  judges)  sat. 

22.  And  judgment  was  given   to   the 
saints  of  the  Most  High. 
And  the  saints  possessed  the  king- 
dom ;    viz.  with  the    Son    of    Man 
who  came  in  the  clouds. 


St.  John  says,  chap.  xx. 

Ver.  4.    I  saw   thrones,  and   they  sat 
upon  them. 

And  judgment  was  given  unto  them. 

And    the  saints   lived   and   reigned 
with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 


•'  Now  if  this  be  suflSciently  proved,  that  the  thousand  years  begin 
wnth  the  day  of  judgment,  it  will  appear  further,  out  of  the  Ap)o- 
calypse,  that  the  judgmeiit  is  not  consummate  till  they  be  ended  ;  for 
Gog  and  Magog's  destruction  and  the  universal  resurrection,  is  not 
till  then  ;  therefore  the  whole  thousand  years  is  included  in  the  day 
of  judgment. 

"  Hence  it  will  follow,  that  whatsoever  Scripture  speaks  of  a 
kingdom  of  Christ,  to  be  at  his  second  appearing  or  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Antichrist,  it  must  needs  be  the  same  which  Daniel  saw 
should  be  at  that  time,  and  so  consequently  be  the  kingdom  of  a 
thousand  years,  which  the  Apocalypse  includes  between  the  beginning 
and  consummation  of  the  great  judgment. 

"Ergo,  that  in  Ijiike  xvii.  from  verse  20  to  the  end. 

"And  that  in  Luke  xix.  from  the  Ilth  verse  to  the  I5th  inclu- 
sively 


APPENDIX.  481 

"  And  that  in  Luke  xxi.  31.    Wheii  ye  see  these  things  come  to  pass, 
know  that  the   hingdom  of  God  is  at  hand.     See  what   went 
before,  viz.  The  Son  of  Man's  coming  in  a  cloud  ivith  poioer  and 
great  glory  ;  borrowed  from  Daniel. 
"  And  that  in  2  Tim.  iv.  1.     I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  loho  shall  judge  the  qidck  and  the  dead  at  his  ap- 
pearing and  his  kingdom. 
"By  these  we  may  understand  the  rest;   taking  this  for  a  sui-e 
ground,  that  this  expression  of   [The  Son  of  Man's  coming  in   the 
cloiids  of  heaven]  so  often  inculcated  in  the  New  Testament,  is  taken 
from  and  hath  reference  to  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  being  nowhere 
else  found  in  the  Old  Testament." — Mede,  Book  IV.  Epist.  15,  page 
763.     See  likewise  Book  III.,  page  532  ;  also  Wintle  on  Dan.  "vii.  14. 


The  following  very  important  discussion  I  take  from  Hengsten- 
berg : — 

TRACES   OF   THE   BOOK   IN   PRE-MACCABEAN   TIMES. 

*'  To  the  external  arguments  of  the  genuineness  belong,  lastly,  the 
traces  of  the  existence  of  our  book  in  the  pre-Maccabean  times.  If 
those  traces  are  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  suffice  alone  for  a  proof 
of  the  genuineness,  and  to  have  equal  weight  with  really  important 
counter  arguments,  yet,  since  such  counter  arguments  are  nowhere 
to  be  found,  they  are,  in  connection  with  ail  the  other  proofs  of  the 
genuineness,  of  no  small  importance, 

"a.  According  to  Josephus,  Arch.  xi.  8,  5,  the  Book  of  Daniel  was 
shown  to  Alexander  the  Great,  and  that  prophecy  was  referred  by 
him  to  himself,  in  which  a  Greek  was  announced  as  the  conqueror  of 
the  Persian  empire.  Now,  in  order  to  enfeeble  this  testimony,  at- 
tacks have  been  directed  partly  against  the  whole  narrative,  partly 
against  this  particular  point  in  it.  To  judge  of  the  former,  we  must 
previously  place  more  exactly  before  us  the  contents  of  the  nar- 
rative. 

*'  During  the  siege  of  Tyre,  Alexander  commanded  the  Jewish 
high-priest  to  do  him  homage,  and  send  him  troops  and  provisions. 
The  high-priest,  true  to  the  oath  which  he  had  taken  to  the  still 
living  Darius,  had  refused  this.  Alexander  deferred  his  revenge  till 
the  conclusion  of  the  siege  of  Tyre  and  Gaza.  After  that,  he 
marched  against  Jerusalem.  The  high-priest  is  in  great  consterna- 
tion ;  public  prayers  and  sacrifices  are  commanded  ;  after  these  he  is 
tranquillized  by  God  in  a  dream,  and  commanded  to  go  himself,  with 


432  APPENDIX. 

the  priests  in  their  official  habiliments,  and  with  the  rest  of  the 
people  in  ■white  garments,  to  meet  the  conqueror.  This  is  done  as 
soon  as  Alexander  approaches  the  city.  The  procession  meets  him 
at  a  place  where  there  was  a  view  of  the  city  and  temple.  Alexan- 
der goes  immediately  to  the  high-priest,  embraces  him,  and  testifies 
his  veneration  for  the  name  of  God  on  his  mitre.  To  the  wondering 
question  of  Parmenio,  why  he,  to  whom  all  others  testified  their 
veneration,  honours  the  Jewish  high-priest,  Alexander  replies,  that 
the  homage  is  not  rendered  to  the  high-priest,  but  to  his  God ;  for 
that  he  had  seen  Him  in  a  vision  in  this  very  expedition,  when  he 
was  yet  in  Macedonia ;  that  He  had  promised  to  undertake  the  lead- 
ing of  his  army,  and  to  give  him  the  Persian  dominion ;  that  this 
coincidence  of  the  dream  with  the  reality  gave  him  a  firm  hope  of 
victory.  He  then,  attended  by  the  high-priest,  and  surrounded  by 
the  priests,  marched  into  the  city,  sacrificed  in  the  temple,  according 
to  the  directions  of  the  high-priest,  and  showed  great  honour  both  to 
him  and  to  the  priests.  Then  they  showed  him  the  Book  of  Daniel. 
On  his  demanding  that  he  should  ask  some  favour  for  the  people,  the 
high-priest  asked  for  exemption  from  tribute  in  the  seventh  year,  as 
being  the  fallow  year.  Many  Jews  tlien,  on  the  command  of  Alex- 
ander, determined  to  participate  in  the  expedition.  The  Samaritans, 
under  the  pretext  that  they  had  affinity  with  the  Jevvs,  tried  to  ob- 
tain a  share  in  the  favours  imparted  to  them ;  but  in  this  they  did 
not  succeed. 

"The  truth  of  this  whole  account  has  been  assailed,  after  the  ex- 
ample of  V.  Dale,  [dissert  sup.  Aristeam  de  LXX.  interpreit.,  p.  68 
sqq.,)  by  several  moderns,  on  the  following  grounds:  1.  'The  cir- 
cumstance that  Alexander,  after  the  conquest  of  Tyre,  marched  to 
Gaza,  from  thence  back  to  Jerusalem,  and  from  thence  to  Egypt,  is 
chronologically  false.  He  would  then  have  made  a  useless  circuit 
of  several  days.  All  writers,  too,  agree  that  he  went  immediately 
from  Gaza  to  Egypt.  Thus  Prideaux,  1.  c.  iii.  p.  115  ;  and  after  him, 
word  for  word,  Griesinger,  p.  33.'  But  there  is  no  difficulty  in  dis- 
covering the  reason  why  Alexander  marched  first  to  Gaza  and  then 
to  Jerusalem.  Gaza  would  seem  to  him  by  far  the  more  important ; 
the  brave  Persian  satrap  Betis  had  hired  Arabian  mercenaries,  and 
laid  up  provisions  in  that  strong  city  for  a  long  siege ;  the  walls  were 
very  high,  the  siege  extremely  difficult.  (Comp.  Arrian  exp.  Al.  p. 
151,  ed  Blancardi.)  Alexander  might  hope  that,  if  he  succeeded  in 
taking  this  place,  the  rest,  including  Jerusalem,  would  submit  to 
him  without  drawing  his  sword,  and  the  result  showed  that  in  this 
calculation  he  was  not  deceived.  This  advantage  was  certainly  well 
worth  the  circuit  of  a  few  days.  Moreover,  this  very  representation 
of  the  march  of  Alexander,  so  improbable  at  first  view,  speaks  in 
faA'our  of  the  trustworthiness  of  Josephus.     Had  he  not  confined 


ArPENDix.  433 

himself  strictly  to  his  authorities,  he  would  certainly  have  placed 
the  coming  of  Alexander  to  Jerusalem  betvreen  the  siege  of  Tyre 
and  of  Gaza.  The  statement  of  the  other  historical  sources,  that 
Alexander  marched  immediately  from  Gaza  to  Egypt,  proves  no- 
thing ;  it  is  a  mere  argumentam  a  silentio,  founded  on  the  omission 
of  a  diversion  of  some  days,  -which  is  the  less  surprising  considering 
the  abundance  of  important  incidents  which  the  life  of  Alexander 
affords.  Besides,  it  affects  the  opponents  in  like  manner;  for  Alex- 
ander must  have  been  in  Jerusalem,  as  we  shall  afterward  see ;  but 
the  ancient  writers  make  him  pass  just  as  immediately  from  Tyre  to 
Gaza,  as  from  Gaza  to  Egypt.  2. '  It  is  not  matter  of  history,  when 
Josephus  makes  Parmenio  say  to  Alexander,  that  all  men  offered 
him  the  ri^osxvvriGi^  (t'I/'  6?jrtO'z'f,  n^O!SxvvQvvtuv  avtov  aTtdv-tcov,  avroj 
Tipogxvvr-astE  tov  'lovbaiLoi'  apj^-cfpfa.)  Not  till  a  later  period  did  Alex- 
ander think  of  exalting  himself  into  a  god,  and  demanding  the 
npotsxvi'tjai^  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  divine  dignity.'  But 
surely  nothing  was  more  natural  than  for  the  subjects  of  the  Per- 
sian empire  to  transfer  to  him  the  customary  mark  of  honour,  even 
without  his  demanding  it ;  and  that  he  assumed  it  icilUngly  may  be 
supposed  from  his  subsequent  conduct.  3.  '  Chaldeans  are  men- 
tioned in  the  retinue  of  the  king ;  yet  at  that  time  they  were  still 
subject  to  the  Persian  king.'  But  what  hinders  our  assuming  that, 
even  before  the  taking  of  Babylon,  Chaldee  renegades  had  deserted 
to  Alexander,  as  Josephus  seems  to  intimate  in  express  terms  ?  This 
may  the  more  readily  be  imagined,  as  the  Babylonians  afterward  re- 
ceived Alexander  with  joy,  as  the  restorer  of  their  worship,  to  which 
the  Persians  had  borne  an  ill  will.  4.  *  The  dream  of  the  high-priest 
looks  very  like  a  fiction.'  But  if  we  set  aside  all  supernatural  opera- 
tions, and  suppose  that  the  high-priest  only  dreamed  what  had 
passed  through  his  waking  soul,  or  that  he  only  gave  out  that  he 
dreamed  it,  certainly  all  in  the  narrative  that  concerns  the  high 
priest's  share  in  the  affair  has  the  highest  probabilit3^  The  whole 
contrivance  was  admirably  suited  to  the  character  of  Alexander.  It 
could  not  have  been  forgotten  by  the  high-priest  that,  on  the  capture 
of  Tyre,  Alexander  had  spared  all  those  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
temple,  that  he  had  sacrificed  to  BLercules,  had  instituted  a  great  fes- 
tival in  honour  of  him,  and  dedicated  a  Tyrian  ship  to  him.  (Comp. 
UssHER.  z.  J.  3673.)  The  measure  which  he  chose,  therefore,  must 
have  appeared  to  him  the  most  suitable  for  mitigating  the  wrath  of 
Alexander. 

"Let  us  now  pass  on  to  establish  the  truth  of  the  narrative  by 
positive  arguments,  in  which  whatever  else  has  been  advanced 
against  it  will  find  a  sufficient  reply. 

"  In  several  main  particulars  the  narrative  is  confirmed  by  express 
historical  testimonies.     Arriax  says  that  Judea  was  not  mastered 


434  APPENDIX. 

by  force  of  arms,  but  surrendered  of  its  own  accord,  (1.  ii.  p.  150: 
xau  tp>  OJvfM  'ta  /xev  aT^Tia  tr^i;  UaT.aiSfiVTj^  jiaTLOu^itVryf  St'pt'aj  Ttpoaxs' 
XupT^xota  rjbri.)  The  personal  presence  of  Alexander  in  Judea  is  re- 
marked, apart  from  Josephus,  not  only,  as  Schlosser  asserts, 
( Wellgescli.  I.  p.  170)  by  the  Arabian  writer  Makrizi,  but  also  by 
Pliny,  [Hist.  Kat.  xii.  26,)  who  speaks  of  an  observation  made  in 
natural  history  in  connection  with  this  event.  That  Jews  served  in- 
the  army  of  Alexander,  is  reported  by  the  contemporary  heathen 
writer  Hecat^eus  Abderita.  How  great  the  favour  of  Alexander 
must  have  been  toward  the  Jews,  appears  from  the  statement, 
although  a  false  one,  of  the  same  writer,  (in  Jos.  c.  Aj).  ii.4,)  that 
Alexander  granted  to  the  Jews  the  region  of  Samaria.  The  genuine- 
ness of  this  book  has  indeed  been  called  in  question  by  an  anony- 
mous author  in  Eichhorn's  Bihl.  f.  bibl.  Litt.  Th.  5,  p.  432,  sqq., 
who  maintains  that  the  writing  was  forged  by  some  nameless  Jew. 
But  the  only  argument  advanced  for  this  assertion,  the  predilection 
for  the  Jews  displayed  in  the  fragments  of  Ilecatseus,  is,  as  Zorn 
has  already  shown,  [Hectcei  Abd.fragmenta.  Alton.  1730,  ann.  p.  5,) 
certainly  not  sufficient  to  establish  it.  It  must  be  well  remembered 
that  those  who  have  preserved  to  us  the  fragments  of  IIecat^eus, 
Josephus,  and  Eusebius,  select  only  what  was  favourable  to  the 
Jews.  It  appears  from  the  fragments  of  IIecat.eus  themselves,  that 
he  was  a.n  enlightened  heathen,  for  whom,  therefore,  Judaism  had 
some  attractions,  and  who,  as  was  often  the  case  in  those  times,  had 
a  certain  leaning  toward  it.  How  few  external  reasons  there  were 
for  suspecting  the  book,  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  even  Herexnius 
PiiiLO,  in  Origen  c.  Celsiwi,  1.  1,  did  not  venture  decidedly  to  reject 
its  genuineness,  and  that  Josephus  could  dare,  in  the  face  of  his 
heathen  readers,  boldly  to  appeal  to  its  authority.  AVhat,  moreover, 
is  decisive  against  this  assertion,  is  the  great  want  of  acquaintance 
with  the  older  history  of  the  Jev/s,  which  the  author  clearly  displays. 
Neither  a  Jew  nor  a  Jewish  proselyte  could  relate  that  the  Persians 
(instead  of  the  Chaldeans)  carried  away  many  myriads  of  Jews  to 
Babylon.  So  gross  an  error,  also,  as  that  Samaria  was  granted  to 
the  Jews,  could  hardly  have  come  from  a  Jew.  But  the  favour  of 
Alexander  toward  the  Jews  is  clear  from  another  circumstance.  Af- 
ter the  founding  of  Alexandria  he  not  only  granted  them  the  fi'ce 
observance  of  their  religion  and  laws,  but  guaranteed  them  the  same 
privileges  in  that  respect  as  the  Macedonians  themselves.  (Comp. 
Prideaux,  1.  c.  p.  126.)  But  if  the  favour  of  Alexander  toward  the 
Jews  is  established,  we  may  draw  thence  a  conclusion  for  the  truth 
of  the  whole  narration.  For  it  is  correctly  observed  by  Jaiin, 
{Archiiol.  II.  i.  p.  306,)  'If  this  principal  point,  the  favour  shown 
toward  the  Jews,  be  correct,  there  must  have  been  some  great  cause 
for  it,  corresponding  to  the  character  of  Alexander;  and,  since  that 


APPENDIX.  435 

assigned  by  Josophus  is  of  such  a  nature,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
of  it.'  We  have  brought  forward  this  passage,  also,  that  it  may  be 
seen  how  correctly  Bleek  has  read,  when  he  maintains,  1.  c.  p.  184, 
that  even  Jahn  is  satisfied  to  vindicate  simply  the  main  fact,  the 
favour  shown  to  the  Jews,  as  historically  true.  Even  the  special 
circumstance  that  the  high-priest  in  full  costume,  and  particularly 
with  the  head-dress,  {ini  t)j^  xs^aJ^rjg  e%ovTfa  t'j^v  xl8apvv  x.  t".  7..,)  went 
to  meet  Alexander,  is  confirmed  by  a  passage  of  Justin,  xi.  10: 
Tunc  in  Syriam  prqficiscitur,  nbi  ohvios  cum  infulis  mullos  Orientis 
regea  Jiahuit.  Ex  his  pro  meriiis  singidonim  aliis  in  societatem  recepif, 
aliis  regninn  ademit,  suffectis  in  loca  corum  aliis  regihus.  Finally, 
the  truth  of  the  narrative  as  a  whole  is  confirmed  by  other  ancient 
Jewish  writers,  who  agree  with  Josephus  in  the  essential  circum- 
stances; compare  the  passages  in  Hess,  [Geschidde  der  Regentenin 
d.  Exil.  ii.  p.  37,)  who  well  deserves  to  be  consulted  on  this  incident. 
"But  that  which  has  no  express  historical  confirmation  is  recom- 
mended so  strongly  by  its  internal  truth,  that  we  cannot  think  of 
fiction  in  the  matter.  For  instance,  the  behaviour  of  Alexander  is 
so  very  correspondent  with  his  historical  character,  that  persons 
have  only  manifested  their  ignorance  of  history  in  trying  from  this 
point  in  particular  to  obtain  arguments  against  the  truth  of  the  nar- 
ration. Alexander  had  a  twofold  reason  for  his  kindly  behaviour 
toward  the  Jews.  In  the  then  state  of  things,  (the  Persian  empire 
was  indeed  weakened,  but  not  for  a  long  while  after  conquered,)  it 
would  be  to  him  of  no  little  importance  to  lay  under  obligation  to 
him  a  people  who  were  not  insignificant,  and  in  this  way  to  bind 
them  firmly  to  him ;  and  then  the  way  in  which  the  high-priest  came 
to  meet  him  offered  him  a  welcome  opportunity  of  doing  it,  accord- 
ing to  his  custom  of  perverting  religion  as  the  means  to  his  ends, 
and  representing  himself  as  a  favourite  of  Deity.  We  maintain, 
against  Hess,  1.  c.  p.  33,  that  the  dream  of  Alexander,  in  all  proba- 
bility, was  fabricated  by  him.  Could  any  thing  else  be  expected  of 
a  man  who,  soon  afterward,  sent  forward  persons  to  bribe  the  priests 
in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon  to  declare  what  he  wished  ? — who, 
on  the  expedition  against  the  Scythians,  demanded  from  the  seer, 
"  Aristandcr,  when  he  foretold  misfortune,  that  ho  should  invent 
another  prophecy  promising  success?  (Arriax,  1.  iv.  p.  246) — who, 
when  the  Chaldeans  cautioned  him  not  to  go  to  Babylon,  expressed 
his  decided  disbelief  of  all  prophecy,  by  quoting  the  verse  of  Eu- 
ripides— 

(Arrian,  p.  478,)  and  yet  constantly  inquired  of  the  seers?  But 
how  much  the  character  of  Alexander  inclined  him  to  such  a  political 
use  of  religion,  may  be  shown  by  many  examples.     From  this  ten* 


436  APPENDIX. 

dency  of  his,  various  tales  originated  by  which  his  history,  even  in 
his  own  time,  was  disfigured.  Thus,  the  account  of  the  two  ravens, 
who,  according  to  the  statement  of  Ptolemy  Lagus,  led  the  army  on 
the  expedition  through  the  wilderness  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  and 
back  again  ;  or,  according  to  Calisthenes,  in  Plutarch,  even  brought 
back  the  several  stragglers  to  the  army.  Men  tried  by  such  fables 
to  gain  the  favour  of  the  king.  Alexander  desired  nothing  more 
than  that,  on  the  expedition  to  India,  certain  tribes  should  receive 
him  as  the  third  son  of  Jupiter.  (Prideaux,  iii.  p.  150.)  On  his  re- 
turn from  India  he  instituted,  in  imitation  of  Bacchus,  a  procession 
of  three  days.  (Prid.  p.  153.)  In  order  to  attain  this  end,  he  sub- 
mitted to  exertions  and  sacrifices  in  comparison  of  which  the  favours 
conferred  on  the  Jews  are  not  deserving  of  mention.  So,  in  order 
to  procure  for  himself  the  advantages  which  the  Persian  kings  de- 
rived from  their  divine  honours,  he  undertook  a  tedious,  difficult, 
and  dangerous  journey  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter.  Ammon,  on  which 
he  and  his  whole  army  nearly  perished  with  thirst.  He  submitted 
humbly  to  the  demand  of  the  priests,  that  no  one  besides  himself 
should  enter  the  temple.  At  a  time  when  his  power  was  much  more 
established,  he  had  the  temple  of  Bel  as,  at  Bab^don,  restored  at  im- 
mense cost.  When  it  is  asserted  that  Alexander  would  not  have 
condescended  to  sacrifieo  in  the  temple  under  the  direction  of  the 
high-priest,  it  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  he  did  the  very  same  thing 
under  the  direction  of  the  Chaldean  priest,  at  Babylon,  in  the  temple 
of  Belus ;  and,  indeed,  his  whole  conduct  there  is  very  similar,  in  a 
religious  point  of  view,  to  that  at  Jerusalem.  Arrian  says,  p.  190 : 
tv9a  6>2  Jcctt  T'otj  Xa.?t6at-ot5  h-htvxf^  xal  oaa  sBoxsi  'KoXSaioi^  ajx^i  'ta  tspa 
T'tt  iv  BoSv'Kmvc,  frfpo^E'  T'a  -r'f  a?^a.  xai  ro)  Br^'Ka  xa.da  ixuvot,  e^r^yovvto, 
kdvasv. 

"  Let  us  now  turn  specially  to  the  statement  of  Josephus,  touching 
the  prophecies  of  Daniel.  Ilcre  also  it  may  be  easily  shown  how 
well  it  was  contrived  that  the  prophecies  about  himself  should  be 
laid  before  Alexander,  how  extremely  suitable  to  Alexander  is  the 
behaviour  ascribed  to  him  on  that  occasion.  Alexander  knew  too 
well  the  influence  which  prophecy  exercised  on  the  whole  world  at, 
that  time,  not  to  avail  himself  of  this  means,  among  others,  for  the 
establishment  of  his  authority  and  for  the  gratification  of  his  vanity. 
He  endeavoured,  by  the  voices  of  the  seers  of  the  most  diverse  na- 
tions, to  get  himself  declared  the  favourite  of  the  gods,  while  in  se- 
cret he  laughed  at  superstition,  certainly  at  least  when  the  prophe- 
cies were  not  altogether  to  his  mind.  Plutarch  remarks  generally, 
as  characteristic  of  him,  that  he  alwaj^s  prided  himself  much  on  hav- 
ing prophecies  in  his  favour,  [avy.^CKo-dfxovix.ivoi  dst  tol^  ^.i.avtivi.i.a.st.) 
The  soothsayer,  Aristandor,  was  constantly  in  his  train  ;  even  an  or- 
dinary Syrian  woman,  who  passed  for  a  prophetess,  was  not  con- 


APPENDIX.  437 

sidered  by  him  too  mean  to  be  allowed  access  to  him  day  and  night, 
(compare  Arriax,  p.  269 ;)  the  priests  of  Jupiter  Amnion  must 
make  him  out  by  an  oracle  to  be  a  son  of  their  god ;  the  Chaldean 
sages,  on  his  entrance  into  Babylon,  came  to  meet  him  in  solemn 
procession,  and  he  found  much  to  transact  with  them. 

"  The  objections  which  have  been  raised  against  the  exhibition  of 
the  prophecies  of  Daniel  to  Alexander,  need  to  be  hardly  more  than 
quoted  to  show  their  weakness.  1.  '  How  could  Alexander  read  a  He- 
brew writing?  How  could  he  make  out  the  symbolical  language? 
Why  did  he  not  feel  himself  ofiended  at  seeing  himself  represented  as 
a  he-goat,  and  his  great  empire  as  a  passing  show  V  AH  these  ob- 
jections rest  on  the  false  supposition,  which  has  not  the  least  founda- 
tion in  the  text  of  Josephus,  that  Alexander  himself  read  the  pro- 
phecies of  Daniel.  They  were  shown  to  him,  and  he  was  told  tlieir 
contents ;  and  the  king,  careless  about  what  was  really  contained  in 
the  book,  caught  eagerly  at  it,  because  the  alleged  contents  were 
quite  according  to  his  wish,  just  as  the  Assyrians,  (compare  Ges.  zu 
Jes.i.  p.  94G,)  without  further  inquiry,  made  use  of  the  Hebrew  pro 
phecies,  in  which,  as  they  might  have  learnt  by  mere  hearsay,  an 
U'ruption  on  their  side  was  predicted  as  a  divine  judgment.  As  re 
gards  the  image  of  the  he-goat,  it  is  judging  quite  according  to  our 
ideas  in  the  present  day,  when  it  is  asserted  that  it  must  have  ap- 
peared offensive  to  the  king ;  in  the  symbolism  of  the  Babylonians 
and  Persians,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  the  he-goat  was  a  very  ho- 
nourable symbol,  and  Alexander  was  surely  familiar  enough  by  this 
time  with  the  symbolical  spirit  of  the  East,  not  to  take  such  a  thing 
oifensively.  And,  besides,  just  that  prophecy  which  of  all  pointed 
most  distinctly  to  Alexander,  and  the  one  therefore  that  was  proba- 
bly laid  before  him,  chap.  xi.  2,  3,  is  quite  destitute  of  imagery.  It 
is  true,  in  the  prophecies  which  foretell  Alexander's  greatness,  there 
is  at  the  same  time  predicted  the  speedy  dismemberment  of  his  em- 
pire after  his  death.  But  who  shall  say  that  they  did  nut  content 
themselves  with  imparting  to  him  only  just  as  much  as  would  dispose 
him  favourably  toward  the  nation  ?  And,  supposing  an}^  one  should, 
without  reason,  assume  the  contrary,  have  we  not  other  instances  in 
which  Alexander,  from  among  prophecies  which  announced  both  suc- 
cess and  misfortune,  joyfully  appropriated  the  former,  and  allowed 
the  others  to  rest  in  peace  ?     (Comp.  Arrian,  p.  151.) 

"2.  'In  both  prophecies  (viii.  21,  xi.  2,  3,)  the  express  command 
was  laid  on  Daniel  to  close  them  up  or  to  seal  them,  and  they  are 
thus  declared  to  be  uninteUigible.  It  must  therefore  be  allowed  that, 
in  the  time  of  Alexander,  no  one  as  yet  could  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  these  prophecies.'  This  argument  again  is  peculiar  to  Bleek. 
It  is  sufficient  for  its  refutation  to  remark  that  in  the  passages  quoted 
it  is  not  an  absolute  obscurity  that  is  spoken  of,  but  that  whi^h  is 


438  APPENDIX. 

only  relative  and  partial.  This  is  clear,  if  not  sufficiently  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  at  least  quite  so  from  a  comparison  of  chapter  x. 
1  with  xii.  8.  In  the  first  passage,  it  is  said  that  Daniel  obtained  an 
insight  into  the  vision,  chap.  x.  12 ;  in  the  second,  '  I  heard  it,  but 
understood  it  not,^  and  Daniel  receives  the  command  to  seal  up  the 
vision,  because  it  vras  destined  for  a  future  period.  If  a  gross  con- 
tradiction is  not  meant  to  be  set  up  here,  one  is  compelled  to  take 
the  understanding  and  the  non-understanding  relatively.  But  if 
this  is  the  case,  then  there  could  not  have  been,  at  least  as  to  those 
prophecies  which  refer  to  Alexander,  especially  at  the  time  when 
they  had  already  begun  to  be  fulfilled,  a  non-understanding,  since 
they  belong  to  the  clearest  in  the  book.  That  a  Greek  would  some 
day  destroy  the  Persian  empire,  is  declared  in  such  explicit  and  di- 
rect terms  that  even  a  child  must  understand  it,  and  nothing  further 
was  said  to  Alexander  by  the  Jews,  even  according  to  Josephus  ;  the 
personal  reference  to  himself  was  his  own  work.  But  we  will  not 
linger  any  longer  on  the  refutation  of  such  an  argument. 

"  Thus  we  think  we  have  sufficiently  justified  the  testimony  of 
Josephus  to  the  existence  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  in  the  time  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  and  consequently  to  its  genuineness,  since  the  ques- 
tion can  only  be  whether  Daniel  is  genuine,  or  whether  composed  in 
the  time  of  Ant.  Epiph.  Of  course,  if  there  existed  any  decisive 
grounds  against  the  genuineness,  the  statement  of  Josephus  alone 
would  not  suffice  to  invalidate  them ;  but  we  have  already  seen  that 
such  is  not  the  case.  And  thus  it  looks  quite  gratuitous  for  Bleek, 
p.  185,  to  suppose  that  the  Jews  might  easily  have  appealed  to  pro- 
phecies in  relation  to  Alexander,  and  that  it  is  merely  a  fiction  of 
Josephus  to  say  they  were  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  in  particular. 

"  We  add  in  conclusion,  further,  on  the  historical  character  of  the 
whole  relation  of  Josephus,  a  remark  of  a  modern  historian,  whose 
hostile  disposition  toward  revealed  religion  and  toward  the  chosen 
people,  makes  him  discover  in  their  history,  in  other  respects,  a  tissue 
of  lies  and  fables,  and  whose  testimony,  therefore,  as  that  of  an  em- 
bittered, blinded  enemy,  is  of  peculiar  weight.  Leo  says,  in  his 
Vorlesungen  ither  die  Gescliiclite  des  J'dd.  Volkes,  p.  200,  *  The  entire 
tale  has  nothing  improbable  in  itself:  armed  resistance  on  the  part 
of  the  high-priest  would  have  been  folly ;  he  might  thus  have 
peaceably  gone  to  meet  Alexander.  And  how  readily  Alexander  al- 
lowed the  Asiatic  world  to  believe  that  he  stood  in  near  connection 
with  the  gods  of  the  nations  which-  he  had  subdued,  is  known  from 
other  sources.  It  has  been  regarded  as  improbable  that  Alexander' 
should  not  have  hastened  immediately  from  Gaza  to  Egypt ;  but  to 
march  from  Gaza  to  Egypt  by  way  of  Jerusalem,  was,  at  the  most,  a 
circuit  of  only  a  few  days,  and  Judea  no  unimportant  point  in  an 


APPENDIX.  439 

expedition  to  Egj^pt;  this  mountain  land  must  on  no  account  be  left 
in  the  rear,  in  tiio  hands  of  enemies.' 

"  b.  The  dying  Mattathias,  1  Mace.  ii.  59,  60,  exhorts  his  relatives, 
among  other  things,  to  steadfastness,  by  referring  to  the  example  of 
Daniel  and  his  three  companions:  'Ananias,  Azarias,  Misael,  by 
believing,  were  saved  out  of  the  flame.  Daniel,  for  his  innocency, 
was  delivered  from  the  mouth  of  lions.'*  Now  several,  as  Bert- 
HOLDT,  maintain  that  Mattathias  can  have  had  before  him  here  only 
the  several  tales  in  question,  circulating  independently  of  each  other — > 
which  assumption  rests  on  the  demonstrably  incorrect  hypothesis  of 
a  plurality  of  authors  ;  or  that  he  may  refer  to  oral  tradition,  which 
is  refuted  by  the  fact  that  all  the  other  numerous  examples  adduced 
by  him  are  borrowed,  without  exception,  from  the  sacred  writings. 
Bleek,  on  the  contrary,  (p.  183,)  allows  that  the  passage  is  really  to 
be  regarded  as  a  testimony  to  our  Book  of  Daniel,  but  avers  that  we 
have  not  here  Mattathias's  own  words,  but  a  discourse  put  into  his 
mouth  by  the  historian.  This  assertion,  it  is  true,  cannot  be  com- 
bated with  decided  certainty  ;  but  it  could  not  be  rightly  considered 
as  made  out,  unless  we  could  from  other  sources  prove  the  spurious- 
ness  of  Daniel ;  and,  since  this  is  not  the  case,  this  testimony  de- 
serves always  to  be  alleged  among  the  arguments  for  the  genuine- 
ness. Even  supposing  the  correctness  of  Bleek's  position,  it  is  at 
least  so  far  of  importance,  as  it  shows  bow  firmly  people  were  per- 
suaded of  the  genuineness  at  a  time  so  near  the  assumed  origin  of 
the  Book  of  Daniel.  A  reference  to  Daniel  is  perhaps  also  found  in 
the  words  of  Mattathias,  1  Mace.  ii.  49 :  '  Now  is  pride  established, 
and  rebuke,  and  the  time  of  destruction,  and  the  wrath  of  indigna- 
tion.'f  Comp.  Dan.  viii.  19 :  '  Behold  I  will  make  thee  know  what 
shall  be  in  the  last  end  of  the  indignation  ;  for  at  the  time  appointed 
the  end  shall  be. 'J  Mat.  appears  to  intimate  that  the  grievous  time 
pointed  at  by  Daniel  is  now  arrived. 

"c.  The  Alexandrine  translators  have  introduced  the  doctrine  of 
guardian  angels  of  kingdoms,  which  in  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment occurs  only  in  Daniel,  into  two  passages,  in  which  so  small  a 
space  of  it  is  contained,  that  only  a  previous  acquaintance  with  this 
doctrine  could  have  led  them  to  give  this  translation.  In  Deut. 
xxxii.  8,  (God  has  defined  the  boundaries  of  the  people  according  to 


*  ^A-vaviae,  'A^ap^'aj,  'Xlv^arjX  rCastivaavte^  eadiOrjaav  ix  ^^oyoj.  Aaviri% 
av  "trj  arc%6tyjtv  azTfov  ip^jvadrj  ix  Gtojxato^  T^toptcov, 

f  Nvv  iarrjpixG'y]  VTisprj^avia  xai  iT^Byfioi  xai  xatpb^  xataatpoipriS  xai  opyv} 
dvfiov. 

X  'l8ov  iyui  ttrtayytX;^^J  60i  a  tdTfat,  i7t'  iox^T^ov  tr^i  6py)j5  fotj  vloc^  tov 
?iaov  6ov'  In  ydp  ft?  topaj  xaipov  ovi'T'fXftaj  ixevil. 


4-10  APPENDIX. 

the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel,)  they  translate  the  words 
'^K'^^**  *^D  15DD  7  ^V' '  accordmg  to  the  number  of  the  angels  of 
God  ;'- in  Isa.  XXX.  4,  the  words   V^b"!    lON^S?^    (i\*'^':S    VPt   O 

T       T  T        T     :     -       I  :  T 

by,  'For  there  are  in  Tanos,  as  princes,  wicked  angels/f  It  has,  on 
the  other  hand,  been  objected  that  the  LXX.  might  have  taken  the 
dogma  thus  introduced  from  the  popular  belief,  which  originated  in 
their  intercourse  with  heathen  nations,  and  independently  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. But  we  saw  before,  how  unfounded  the  assertion  is  that  the 
Jews  borrowed  the  doctrine  of  the  tutelary  spirits  of  nations  from 
the  Persians,  among  whom  it  did  not  all  exist;  and  it  is  to  be  well 
observed  that  this  doctrine  is  by  the  Jews  constantly  founded  on 
Daniel.  (Corap.  Eisenmenger,  i.  p.  806.  Jo.  a  Lent.  iheoJogia  Jud.  p. 
27G.)  It  is  true,  however,  that  this  argument  can  only  pass  for  a 
secondary  argument,  since  it  must  be  allowed  possible,  altliough  not 
probable,  that  the  Jews  derived  this  doctrine  from  gross  misunder- 
standing of  some  passages  of  the  Bible  besides  Daniel. 

"  d.  More  important  than  the  two  preceding  is  the  proof  now  to  be 
adduced  of  the  existence  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  previously  to  the 
times  of  the  Maccabees.  Here  we  must  begin  with  making  good  cer- 
tain presumptions  which  form  the  groundwork  of  it. 

"1.  It  is  time  at  length  to  examine  the  assertion,  which  is  as 
generally  as  confidently  made,  of  a  Hebrew  or  Aramcean  original  of 
the  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  now  that  we  have  so  long  and  va- 
riously quoted  it  with  its  alleged  arguments  in  our  favour.  This 
examination  naturally  cannot  be  instituted  here  comprehensively, 
and  so  as  to  exhaust  the  subject ;  yet  this  much,  at  least,  may  be 
briefly  shown,  that  the  arguments  hitherto  alleged  for  a  non-Greek 
original  are  not  tenable.  We  are  reminded  that  Origen  quotes  the 
title  of  the  book  in  Hebrew,  (Orig.  in  Eus.  II.  Fed.  vi.  25 :  i|co  be 
iovtoiv  Jati  ifa  '\laxxa(ja'Cxa,  arCsp  ErttysypaTtr'at.  Sap/Bji^  Xapj3avs  "ETl.,) 
which,  it  is  said,  supposes,  of  course,  that  in  his  time  the  Avhole  book 
was  in  existence  in  Hebrew  or  Aramaean ;  that  Jerome  had  even 
seen  the  Hebrew  original.  [Prol.  gal. :  Maccahctorum  jirimum  librum 
Hebraicum  reiKvi.)  But  these  testimonies  show  nothing  more  than 
that  in  the  time  of  Origen  and  Jerome  the  book  existed  also  in 
Hebrew  or  Aramcean  ;  if  Origen  and  Jerome  regarded  this  as  the 
original  work,  that  is  not  at  all  to  the  purpose.  '  The  Hebrew  or 
Aramaean  copy  might  just  as  well  be  a  translation,  as  we  possess 
such  translations  of  most  of  such  apocryphal  writings  as  were  writ- 
ten in  Greek.  It  is  further  alleged  that  in  the  book  many  expressions 


*  KaT'd  apiOfibv  ayyiTuov  @£0v. 

f  "Ot'c  £L(iiv  iv  Tarsi  dpx-y]yoi  dyyrXoi  jtovy]f) 


1 01. 


APPENDIX.  44^ 

occur  which  do  not  receive  their  full  explanation  till  they  are  trans- 
lated back  again  into  IIel)rew.  But  were  this  argument  valid,  all 
the  books  of  the  New  Testament  might,  with  little  difficult}'',  be 
proved  to  have  had  a  Hebrew  or  Aramaean  original.  The  occurrence 
of  Hebraisms  in  tliis  book,  however,  assuming  its  Greek  original,  is 
still  more  conceivable,  if  we  remember  that  the  Greek  language  was 
then  much  more  recent  and  strange  to  the  Jews.  And,  what  is 
more,  the  very  Hebraisms  which  have  been  produced  as  the  most 
convincing,  (comp.  e.  g.  EicnHORX,  Einl.  in  die  Apokr.  p.  219,  sqq.,) 
are  found  in  the  LXX,,  and,  as  probably  taken  by  the  author  from 
them,  serve  rather  for  proof  th.at  Greek  was  the  language  of  the 
original.  Thus,  e.  g.  for  rjtotpLdaOrj  57  Qaao'Kda  ivi!o7ii,ov  Avtioxov,  i.  16, 
comp,  1  Sam.  XX.  30,  1  Kings  ii.  12,  1  Chron.  xvii.  11;  for  rtaj  o 
i^ovata^'  pL£vo^  T'w  w^9,  ii,  24,  comp.  Ezra  ii.  68,  vii.  15,  &c. ;  for 
a7i?^^v%o(,  in  the  sense  of  Philistines,  1  Kings  xiii.  2.  Of  more  im- 
portance would  be  the  proof  from  errors  in  iranslation,  if  the  only 
vouchers  that  have  been  adduced  for  this  did  not  rest  on  insecure 
assumptions.  Thus  in  chap  iv.  16,  iVt  rCTirjpovvtog  'lov8a  raxJT'a,  *  whilst 
Judas  was  saying  this,'  rCTiT^poa  is  said  to  be  used  in  a  sense  quite 

unusual,  and  only  to  be  explained  from  the  exchange  of  77D  ^^^ 

^^f2-  But  here  it  may  first  be  asked  whether  7iXy;p6co  has  really  the 
meaning  ascribed  to  it,  to  say,  and  not  rather  that  which  occurs  not 
rarely  in  the  LXX.  and  in  the  New  Testament,  to  complete,  to  do. 
In  chap.  vi.  1,  [htlv  'ETiv/xal's  h  -t'/j  IlspaCdi,  rto?itf,)  we  are  told,  such  a 
sad  error  in  the  geography  as  the  changing  of  the  province  Elymais 
into  a  city,  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing  that  the  Greek  trans- 
lator, from  ignorance  of  geography,  translated  the  Hebrew  H^'H/p 
as  Aquila  does,  Dan,viii.2,  hj  city,  instead  oi  province.  This  as- 
sertion mi.glit  have  some  plausibility,  if  there  did  not  occur  in  the 
First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  in  the  other  accounts  relating  to 
foreign  geography  and  histoiy,  numerous  and  almost  as  great  mis- 
takes. These  are  all  the  arguments  for  a  non-Greek  original  of  the 
book.  On  the  contrary,  among  other  things,  may  be  noted  the  fol- 
lowing. We  have  above  shown  that  the  author  of  the  First  Book  of 
the  Maccabees  made  use  of  Daniel ;  and  that  he  copied  not  the 
original,  but  the  LXX.,  is  shown  by  the  frequent  verbal  agreement 
in  the  expressions.  That  the  expression  (5dt%vyixa  tr^s  spj^^uwafcoj  is 
borrowed  from  the  LXX.  even  Bleek,  p.  181,  allows.  Now,  it  might 
be  objected  that  several  of  the  expressions  quoted  (although  not  by 
any  means  all ;  even  for  J85I.  if.  sp.  Theodotiox  has,  chap.  31,  jSSsXt-y.uo. 
vida-vLOfx-ivov)  arc  translated  in  the  same  way  by  Tiieodotiox,  and  that 
therefore  the  agreement  of  the  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees  with  the 
Alexandrine  version  can  only  be  accidental.     But  this  objection  is 


442  APPEInDIX. 

rendered  invalid,  if  we  consider  that  Theodotiox,  not  only  in  general, 
as  Jerome  and  Epiphanius  have  already  remarked,  (comp.  among  the 
moderns,  e.g.  De  Wette,  p.  81,)  but  in  particular  in  dealing  vrith 
Daniel,  as  the  most  cursory  comparison  will  prove,  did  not  by  any 
means  give  a  new  translation,  but  only  retouched  and  improved  the 
Alexandrine.  Now,  if  the  using  of  the  Alexandrine  version  in  the 
First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  as  it  lies  before  us,  is  established,  is  it 
at  all  likely  that  the  alleged  Greek  translator  introduced  this  agree- 
ment? Would  he  not  have  independently  translated,  not  merely  the 
book  as  a  whole,  but  these  particular  passages  that  relate  to  the 
Book  of  Daniel  ?  Moreover,  Josephus  has  nowhere  made  use  of  a 
non-Greek  original;  he  rather  follows  constantly  our  Greek  book, 
and,  indeed,  often  in  its  very  words.  The  Syrian  translator,  too,  has 
translated  from  the  Greek.  Lastly,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  Chaldee  copy  of  the  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  still  existing, 
and  edited  by  Bartolocci,  is  the  same  that  Origen  and  Jerome 
meant.  This,  however,  may  be  immediately  seen  to  be  a  bad  and 
disfigured  copy  of  our  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees. 

"  2.  It  has  been  frequently  maintained  that  the  First  Book  of  the 
Maccabees  could  not  have  been  composed  till  after  the  death  of  John 
Hyrcanus,  (106  B.C.,)  because,  according  to  chap.  xvi.  23,  24,  the 
memoir  of  the  life  and  deeds  of  Hyrcanus  already  existed  as  a  com- 
plete whole  at  the  time  of  the  composition.  (Comp.  e.  g.  Eichhorx, 
p.  247,  Bertholdt,  p.  1048.)  But  this  passage,  [xal  ta  Xotrta  -rwv 
J'^ywv  "lojclvvov — ibov  ravta  ylypartrat  irtt  j8t,3?aov  ^/xfpwv  ap;j;c-fpc<j5i;t?;j 
avtov,  a^  ov  iysvr^9'/j  apx'-^P^^?  fiita  tov  Tiatipa  avtov,)  on  the  contrary, 
shows  that  the  book  was  composed,  although  certainly  a  considerable 
time  after  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Hyrcanus,  yet  before  the 
end  of  it — otherwise,  why  should  the  terminus  a  quo  be  expressly 
assigned,  and  not  the  teiminus  ad  quem  f  We  must  make  the  more 
use  of  this  indication,  because  we  are  compelled  by  the  internal 
complexion  of  the  book  to  place  the  time  of  its  composition  as  early 
as  possible.  Ancient  and  modern  scholars  are  agreed  that  the  book, 
as  far  as  regards  the  native  accounts,  possesses  in  a  high  degree  the 
character  of  trustworthiness  and  historical  fidelity,  that  it  is  dis- 
tinguished in  particular  by  an  exact  and  correct  chronology.  Now, 
how  can  those  marks  of  excellence,  which  appear  in  an  especially 
striking  light  on  comparison  with  the  Second  Book  of  the  Macca- 
bees, be  otherwise  explained  than  on  the  assumption  that  the  book 
was  written  at  a  time  comparatively  near  the  incidents  depicted  in  it, , 
so  that  the  author  could  write  the  truth  if  he  really  wished  to  ?  This 
assumption  is  the  more  necessary,  the  more  numerous  were  the  fic- 
tions and  exaggerations  by  which  the  Jewish  national  pride  by  de- 
grees disfigured  the  history  of  the  Maccabees.  We  can  avoid  it  only 
on  the  hypothesis  that  there  were  older  written  authorities ;  but  this 


APrEXDTX.  4^3 

is  very  improbable,  because  the  author  no"^here  refers  to  such 
sources,  not  even  -where,  as  in  chap.  ix.  23,  we  might  surely  expect 
such  a  reference,  the  more  so  as  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, ■which  the  author  is  perpetually  copying,  are  accustomed  to 
quote  their  authorities.  Besides,  in  the  closing  verses  of  the  book 
that  are  adduced,  there  seems  contained  an  intimation  that  beyond 
the  period  whose  history  the  author  described,  no  written  records 
existed.  For  when  the  author  closes  his  work  with  the  death  of 
Simon,  and  pronounces  the  continuation  of  it  unnecessary,  because 
the  history  of  Hyrcanus  was  to  be  found  written  elsewhere,  it  surely 
seems  to  follow  that  from  the  same  reason  he  would  not  have  written 
the  earlier  history,  if  there  had  already  existed  trustworthy  earlier 
records  respecting  it. 

"  3.  The  Alexandrine  version  of  Daniel,  as  appears  from  the  fore- 
going remarks,  must  have  been  made  before  the  First  Book  of  the 
^Maccabees,  and,  indeed,  probably  a  considerable  time  before,  since 
the  way  in  which  the  author  makes  use  of  it  seems  to  suppose  its 
distribution  and  reception  by  the  church  in  Palestine.  "SVe  have  a 
second  testimony  to  its  earlier  composition  in  the  prologue  to  Jesus 
Sirach,  composed  about  the  year  130  b.  c,  in  which,  as  De  "Wette 
also  (1.  c.  p.  75)  is  inclined  to  assume,  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
entire  Old  Testament  is  supposed  complete.  Lastly,  an  indication 
of  the  time  of  composition  is  perhaps  furnished  us  by  the  translation 
itself. — In  chap.  x.  1,  it  renders  the  words  "li3"in  DN  P^l  by 
xa.1  to  7i%r^9o^  to  iaxvpov  Siavor^Or^sstai  to  Ttpoatayi-ia.  Bv  to  rtT^r^O.  to  iax- 
are  probably  intended  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  as 
those  who,  according  to  chap.  xii.  9,  10,  will  receive  a  full  insight 
into  the  vision  which  was  partially  closed  up  at  the  time  it  was 
given.  But  a  very  exact  definition  like  this,  for  which  there  is  not 
the  slightest  ground  in  the  text,  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing 
the  author  to  have  lived  in  the  ]Maccabean  time  itself,  and  observed 
the  mighty  influence  exerted  upon  it  by  the  prophecies  of  Daniel. 

"  Xow,  according  to  these  explanations,  the  Alexandrine  version  is 
in  any  case  separated  by  only  a  very  small  interval  of  time  from  the 
composition  of  the  book  itself,  if  we  are  to  regard  it  as  spurious. 
According  to  Bleek,  (p.  2SS,)  chapters  i.-vi.  were  composed  during 
the  time  that  the  Jewish  worship  was  abolished  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes — very  soon  after  the  consecration  of  the  altar  of  burnt- 
otiering  for  heathen  sacrifices  ;  the  prophetic  sections  probably  some- 
what later,  after  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  worship  by  Judas 
Maccabseus,  shortly  before  or  immediately  after  the  death  of  An- 
tiochus Epiphanes ;  the  whole,  therefore,  within  the  3-ears  167-163, 
B.  c.  But  we  should  certainly  expect  that  a  book  whose  author  and 
translator  are  quite  contemporary,  or  at  most  separated  by  only  a 
very  small  interval  of  time,  would  be  more  correctly  translated  than 


444  APPENDIX. 

all  the  other  far  older  books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  like  man- 
ner, too,  that  no  traces  of  variation  in  the  translation  would  occur, 
which,  indeed,  in  a  work  only  just  come  to  light,  are  scarcely  to  be 
conceived.  But  now,  in  the  present  case,  the  very  contrary  is  found. 
The  translation  of  Daniel  is  the  very  worst  of  all,  so  bad  that  the 
ancient  church  rejected  it — a  thing  that,  with  their  high  veneration 
for  the  LXX.,  says  much — and  substituted  the  translation  of  Theo- 
DOTiON  ;  comp.  De  Wette,  1.  c.  p.  76.  Gross  misunderstandings  of 
the  original  are  so  frequent  on  every  hand,  that  it  is  not  worth  while 
to  quote  particular  instances,  especially  as  Michaelis  has  already, 
in  his  dissertation  on  this  version,  [Or.  hihl.  iv.  p.  17,  sqq.,)  collected 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  them.  Many  tim.es,  e.  g.  x.  8,  the  translator 
gives  mere  words,  without  any  sense.  Perhaps  it  will  be  attempted 
to  charge  this  character  of  the  translation  on  the  Alexandrine  origin 
of  it.  But,  for  one  thing,  this  origin  is  very  far  from  proved,  since 
it  does  not  follow  from  the  composition  of  most  parts  of  the  LXX.  at 
Alexandria,  that  they  were  all  composed  there  ;  for  another,  it  can- 
not be  supposed  that,  with  all  the  active  intercourse  between  the 
Jews  in  Palestine  and  in  Egypt,  a  proof  of  which  would  be  furnished 
by  the  speedy  transmission  and  immediate  translation  of  the  book, 
the  complete  understanding  of  it  which  the  Jews  of  Palestine  must 
have  possessed  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  should  have  been  with- 
holden  so  entirely  from  the  Alexandrines  ;  and,  finally,  the  f\ict 
that  the  Alexandrine  version  was  in  Palestine  also  the  received  one, 
as  appears  from  its  being  taken  as  the  basis  in  the  First  Book  of  the 
Maccabees  and  in  the  Xew  Testament,  shows  that  Daniel  was  no 
better  understood  there  than  in  Egypt.  Nor  is  it  less  true  that  traces 
are  found  of  variations,  although  Michaelis,  (1.  c.  p.  34  sqq.,)  has 
ascribed  much  to  that  source,  which  can  be  ascribed  only  to  a  para- 
phrastic freedom,  or  to  ignorance  of  the  language,  and  to  mistakes 
on  the  part  of  the  translator.  Comp.  e.  g.  chap.  v.  21,  (rt?.^p);?  tdv 
'y^fA,spojv,  xal  IV6o|oj  iv  yrjpst,;  chap.  xi.  4,  {xal  Ifspovs  St§a|ft  ravi'a,) 
&G,"—Hengstenherg  on  Daniel,  pp.  224-240,  Edinburgh,  1848. 


THE   PAPACY. 


The  strongest  expressions  I  have  used  in  describing  the  Papacy 
in  the  Lecture  ending  at  page  245,  are  justified  by  the  occurrences 
of  1850. 

The  head  of  the  Apostasy  has  taken  ecclesiastical  possession  of 
England— divided  it  among  his  creatures— appointed  Cardinal  Wise- 


APPENDIX.  445 

man  as  their  head,  and  Archbishop  of  Westminster.  Perhaps  the 
most  expressive  comment  on  this  lecture  •will  be  found  in  the  docu- 
ments themselves. 


THE   PAPAL    BULL. 

Apostolic  Letter  of  His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  IX.,  estdblisJiing  an 
Episcopal  Hierarchy  in  England, 

"Ad  perpetuam  rei  memoriam." 

"  The  power  of  governing  the  universal  church,  intrusted  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  in  the  person  of  St.  Peter, 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  has  maintained  for  centuries  in  the  apostolic 
see  the  admirable  solicitude  with  which  it  watches  over  the  welfare 
of  the  Catholic  religion  in  all  the  earth,  and  provides  with  zeal  for 
its  progress.  Thus  has  been  accomplished  the  design  of  its  Divine 
founder,  who,  by  establishing  a  chief,  has  in  his  profound  wisdom 
insured  the  safety  of  the  church  unto  the  uttermost  time.  The  effect 
of  this  solicitude  has  been  felt  in  most  nations,  and  among  these  is 
the  noble  kingdom  of  England.  History  proves  that  since  the  first 
ages  of  the  church,  the  Christian  religion  was  carried  into  Great 
Britain,  where  it  flourished  until  toward  the  middle  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury. After  the  invasion  of  the  Angles  and  Saxons  in  that  island, 
government,  as  well  as  religion,  fell  into  a  most  deplorable  state.  At 
once  our  most  holy  predecessor,  Gregory  the  Great,  sent  the  monk  Au- 
gustine and  his  followers  ;  then  he  created  a  great  number  of  bishops, 
joined  to  them  a  multitude  of  monks  and  priests,  brought  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  to  religion,  and  succeeded  by  his  influence  in  re-establishing 
and  extending  the  Catholic  faith  in  all  that  country,  which  then  began 
to  assume  the  name  of  England.  But,  to  recall  more  recent  facts, 
nothing  seems  more  evident  to  us  in  the  history  of  the  Anglican 
schism  of  the  sixteenth  century  than  the  solicitude  with  which  the 
Roman,  pontiffs,  our  predecessors,  succoured  and  supported,  by  all 
the  means  in  their  power,  the  Catholic  religion,  then  exposed  in  that 
kingdom  to  the  greatest  dangers,  and  reduced  to  the  last  extremities. 
It  is  with  this  object,  apart  from  other  means,  that  so  many  efforts 
have  been  made  by  the  sovereign  pontiffs,  either  by  their  orders  or 
with  their  approbation,  to  keep  in  England  men  ready  and  devoted 
to  the  support  of  Catholicism  ;  and  in  order  that  young  Catholics  en- 
dowed by  nature  might  be  enabled  to  come  on  to  the  continent,  there 
to  receive  an  education,  and  be  formed  with  care  in  the  study  of  ec- 
clesiastical science,  especially  in  order  that,  being  in  sacred  orders, 
they  may,  on  their  return  to  their  country,  be  able  to  support  their 


416  APPENDIX. 

countrymen  by  the  ministry  of  their  word  and  by  the  sacraments, 
and  that  they  may  defend  and  propagate  the  true  faith. 

"But  the  zeal  of  our  predecessors  will  perhaps  be  more  clearly 
admitted,  as  regards  what  they  have  done  to  give  the  Catholics  of 
England  pastors  clothed  in  an  episcopal  character  at  a  time  when  a 
furious  and  implacable  tempest  had  deprived  them  of  the  presence 
of  bishops  and  their  pastoral  care.  First,  the  apostolic  letter  of 
Gregory  XV.,  commencing  with  these  words,  'Ecclesia  Romana,^  and 
dated  the  23d  of  March,  1G23,  shows  that  the  sovereign  pontiff,  as 
soon  as  possible,  deputed  to  the  government  of  English  and  Scotch 
Catholic  bishops,  William  Bishop,  consecrated  Bishop  of  Chalcis, 
with  ample  faculties  and  powers.  After  the  dea£h  of  Bishop,  Urban 
VIII.  renewed  this  mission  in  his  apostolic  letter,  dated  January  4, 
1625,  addressed  to  Richard  Smith,  and  conferring  on  him  the  bishop- 
ric of  Chalcis,  and  all  the  powers  previously  resting  on  Bishop.  It 
seemed  subsequently,  at  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  James 
II.,  that  more  favourable  days  were  about  to  dawn  upon  the  Catholic 
religion.  Innocent  XI.  profited  at  once  by  this  circumstance,  and 
in  1685  he  deputed  John  Leyburn,  Bishop  of  Adrumede,  as  vicar- 
apostolic  for  all  the  kingdom  of  England.  Subsequently,  by  another 
apostolic  letter,  dated  30th  January,  1688,  and  commencing  as  fol- 
lows, '  Super  cathedram,^  he  joined  with  Leyburn  three  other  vicars- 
apostolic,  bishops  in  partibiis,  so  that  all  England,  by  the  care  of  the 
apostolic  nuncio  in  this  country,  Ferdinand,  Archbishop  of  Amosia, 
was  divided  by  that  pontiff  into  four  districts ;  that  of  London,  the 
west,  the  centre,  and  the  north,  which  at  first  were  governed  by  apos- 
tolic vicars  furnished  with  proper  faculties  and  powers.  In  the  ac- 
complishment of  so  grave  a  charge,  they  received  rules  and  succour 
either  by  the  decisions  of  Benoit  XIV.,  in  his  Constitution  of  May 
30,  1753,  which  commences  with  the  words,  '  Apostolicum  minis- 
terium,^  or  by  those  of  other  pontiffs,  our  predecessors,  and  our  Con- 
gregation for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith.  This  division  of  all 
England  into  four  apostolic  vicarages  lasted  till  the  time  of  Qregory 
XVI.,  who,  in  his  apostolic  letter,  '  Muneris  apostolici,'  dated  July 
3,  1840,  considering  the  increase  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  England, 
and  making  a  new  ecclesiastical  division  of  the  country,  doubled  the 
number  of  vicarages,  and  confided  the  spiritual  government  of  Eng- 
land to  the  vicars-apostolic  in  London,  of  the  west,  the  east,  the 
centre,  of  Lancaster,  York,  and  the  north.  The  little  we  have  just 
said  proves  clearly  that  our  predecessors  applied  themselves  strongly 
to  use  all  the  means  their  authority  gave  them  to  console  the  Church 
of  England  for  its  immense  disgraces,  and  to  work  for  its  resurrec- 
tion. Having  before  our  eyes,  therefore,  the  good  example  of  our 
predecessors,  and  desirous,  by  imitating  them,  of  fulfilling  the  duties 


,  APPENDIX.  447 

of  the  supreme  apostolate  ;  pressed,  besides,  to  follow  the  movements 
of  our  heart  for  that  portion  of  the  Lord's  vineyard,  we  proposed  to 
ourselves,  from  the  commencement  of  our  pontificate,  to  pursue  a 
work  that  was  so  well  begun,  and  to  apply  ourselves  in  the  most 
serious  manner  to  ftivour  every  day  the  development  of  the  church 
in  this  kingdom.  For  this  reason,  considering  as  a  whole  the  state 
of  Catholicism  in  England,  reflecting  on  the  considerable  number  of 
Catholics,  which  keep  still  increasing,  remarking  that  every  day  the 
obstacles  are  falling  off  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  extension  of 
the  Catholic  religion,  we  have  thought  that  the  time  was  come  when 
the  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  should  be  resumed  in  England, 
such  as  it  exists,  freely  exists,  in  other  nations,  where  no  particular 
cause  necessitates  the  ministry  of  vicars-apostolic.  We  have  thought, 
that  by  the  progress  of  time  and  things,  it  was  no  longer  necessary 
to  have  the  English  Catholics  governed  by  vicars-apostolic,  but  on 
the  contrary,  that  the  changes  which  had  already  been  made  neces- 
sitated the  ordinary  form  of  episcopal  government. 

*'  We  have  been  confirmed  in  these  thoughts  by  the  desires  ex- 
pressed to  us  by  the  vicars-apostolic  in  England,  as  well  as  by  num- 
bers of  the  clergy  and  laity  distinguished  by  virtue  and  rank,  and  by 
the  wishes  of  the  great  majority  of  English  Catholics.  In  maturing 
this  design,  we  have  not  failed  to  implore  the  aid  of  the  Almighty 
and  Most  Gracious  God,  and  that  he  would  grant  us  grace  in  this 
weighty  affair  to  resolve  upon  that  which  should  be  most  suitable  to 
augment  the  prosperity  of  the  church.  We  have  further  besought 
tlie  assistance  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  and  of 
the  saints  whose  virtues  have  made  England  illustrious,  that  they 
would  deign  to  obtain  by  their  intercession  with  God  the  happy  suc- 
cess of  this  enterprise.  AVe  have  since  commended  the  whole  busi- 
ness to  the  grave  and  serious  consideration  of  our  venerable  brothers 
the  cardinals  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  forming  our  Congregation 
for  Propagating  the  Faith.  Their  sentiments  having  been  found 
completely  conformable  to  our  own,  we  have  resolved  to  sanction 
them,  and  carry  them  into  execution.  It  is  for  this  reason,  after 
having  weighed  the  whole  matter  most  scrupulously,  that  of  our  own 
proper  motion,  in  our  certain  knowledge,  and  in  the  plenitude  of  our 
apostolic  power,  we  have  resolved,  and  do  hereby  decree  the  re- 
establishment  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  and  according  to  the 
common  laws  of  the  church,  of  a  hierarchy  of  bishops,  deriving  their 
titles  from  their  own  sees,  which  we  constitute  by  the  present  letter 
in  the  various  apostolic  districts. 

"  To  commence  with  the  district  of  London,  it  vrill  form  two  sees 
— to  wit,  that  of  Westminster,  which  we  hereby  elevate  to  be  metro- 
politan, of  archiepiscopal  dignity,  and  that  of  Southwark,  which  we 
assign  to  it  as  suffragan,  together  with  those  which  we  proceed  to 


448  APPENDIX. 

indicate.  The  diocese  of  Westminster  will  include  that  portion  of 
the  aforesaid  district  which  extends  to  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  and 
comprehends  the  counties  of  Middlesex,  Essex,  and  Hertford;  that 
of  Southwark,  on  the  south  of  the  Thames,  will  include  the  counties 
of  Beds,  Southampton,  Surrey,  Sussex,  and  Kent,  with  the  Isles  of 
"Wight,  Jersey,  Guernsey,  and  others  adjacent.  In  the  northern  dis- 
trict there  will  be  but  one  episcopal  see,  which  will  take  its  name 
from  the  town  of  Hagglestown,  and  huxe  for  its  circumscription  that 
of  the  existing  district.  The  district  of  York  will  also  be  a  diocese, 
whose  capital  will  be  the  town  of  Beverley.  In  the  district  of  Lan- 
cashire there  will  be  two  bishops,  of  whom  one,  the  bishop  of  Liver- 
pool, will  have  for  his  diocese  the  Isle  of  Mona,  the  districts  of 
Lonsdale,  Amounderness,  and  AVest  Derby ;  and  the  other,  the 
bishop  of  Salford,  will  extend  his  jurisdiction  over  Salford,  Black- 
burn, and  Lcyland.  The  county  of  Chester,  though  belonging  to  this 
district,  will  be  united  to  another  diocese.  In  the  district  of  Wales, 
two  archiepiscopal  sees  will  be  established,  that  of  Salop  and  that 
of  Merioneth  and  Newport  united.  The  diocese  of  Salop  will  con- 
tain the  counties  of  Anglesea,  Caernarvon,  Denbigh,  Flint,  Merioneth, 
and  Montgomery,  to  which  we  join  the  county  of  Chester,  detached 
from  the  district  of  Lancaster,  and  that  of  Salop  from  the  centre. 
To  the  diocese  of  the  bishop  of  Merioneth  and  Newport  are  assigned, 
the  counties  of  Brecknock,  Glamorgan,  Carmarthen,  Pembroke,  and 
Radnor,  also  the  English  counties  of  Hereford  and  Monmouth.  In 
the  western  district  we  create  two  sees,  Clifton  and  Plymouth  ;  the 
first  comprehending  the  counties  of  Gloucester,  Somerset,  and  Wilts  ; 
the  second  those  of  Devon,  Dorset,  and  Cornwall.  The  central  dis- 
trict, from  which  we  have  detached  the  county  of  Salop,  will  have 
two  episcopal  sees,  Nottingham  and  Birmingham :  to  the  first  wo 
assign  the  counties  of  Notts,  Derby,  Leicester,  Lincoln,  and  Rutland; 
to  the  second  the  counties  of  Stafford,  Bucks,  Oxford  and  AVarwick. 
In  the  eastern  district  there  will  be  one  see,  which  will  take  its  name 
from  the  town  of  Northampton,  and  retain  the  present  circumscrip- 
tion of  the  district,  except  the  counties  of  Lincoln  and  Rutland, 
which  we  have  assigned  to  the  diocese  of  Nottingham. 

''Thus,  in  the  very  flourishing  kingdom  of  England  there  will  be 
one  single  ecclesiastical  province,  with  one  archbishop  and  twelve 
suffragans,  whose  zeal  and  pastoral  labours  will,  we  hope,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  bring  new  and  daily  increase  to  the  poAver  of  Catholi- 
cism. For  this  reason  we  reserve  to  ourselves  and  successors  the 
right  to  divide  this  province  into  several,  and  to  increase  the  number 
of  its  bishoprics  as  new  ones  may  be  required,  and  in  general  to 
settle  their  boundaries  as  it  may  appear  meet  before  the  Lord. 

"  Meanwhile,  we  enjoin  the  the  archbishop  and  bishops  to  furnish 
at  stated  seasons  reports  of  the  state  of  their  churches  to  our  Con- 


APPENDIX.  449 

gregation  of  the  Propaganda,  and  not  to  omit  informing  us  on  all 
points  concerning  the  spiritual  good  of  their  flocks.  We  shall  con- 
tinue to  avail  ourselves  of  the  aid  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Pro- 
paganda in  all  that  concerns  the  affairs  of  the  church  in  Enghmd. 
But  in  the  sacred  government  of  the  clergy  and  people,  and  all 
which  concerns  the  pastoral  office,  the  archbishop  and  bishops  of 
England  will  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  faculties  which  bishops  and 
archbishops  can  use,  according  to  the  disposition  of  the  sacred 
canons  and  the  apostolic  constitutions,  and  they  will  likewise  be 
equally  bound  by  all  the  obligations  to  which  other  bishops  and 
archbishops  are  held  by  the  common  discipline  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

"  Their  rights  and  duties  will  not  be  in  any  case  impaired  by  any 
thing  that  is  at  present  in  vigour,  whether  originating  in  the  former 
form  of  the  English  Church,  or  in  the  subsequent  missions  instituted 
in  virtue  of  special  constitutions,  privileges,  or  customs,  now  that 
the  same  state  of  things  no  longer  exists.  And  in  order  that  no 
doubt  may  remain,  we  suppress,  in  the  plentitude  of  our  apostolic 
power,  and  entirely  abrogate  all  the  obligatory  and  juridical  force  of 
the  said  special  constitutions,  privileges,  and  customs,  however 
ancient  their  date.  The  archbishop  and  bishops  of  England  will 
thus  have  the  integral  power  to  regulate  all  that  belongs  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  common  law,  or  which  are  left  to  the  authority  of 
bishops  by  the  general  discipline  of  the  church.  As  for  us,  most 
assuredly  they  shall  never  have  to  complain  that  we  do  not  sustain 
them  by  our  apostolical  authority,  and  we  shall  always  be  happy  to 
second  their  demands  in  all  which  appears  calculated  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls.  In  decreeing  this  restoration  of 
the  ordinary  hierarchy  of  bishops  in  England,  and  the  enjoyment 
of  the  common  law  of  the  church,  we  have  had  principally  in  view 
the  prosperity  and  increase  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  the  kingdom 
of  England ;  but  we  have  also  desired  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  so 
many  of  our  reverend  brethren  governing  in  England,  under  the 
style  of  vicars-apostolic,  and  also  of  a  great  number  of  our  dear 
children  of  the  Catholic  clergy  and  people.  Many  of  their  ancestors 
presented  the  same  prayer  to  our  predecessors,  who  had  begun  to 
send  vicars-apostolic  to  England,  where  no  Catholic  bishop  could 
exercise  the  common  ecclesiastical  law  in  his  own  church,  and  who 
afterward  multiplied  the  number  of  vicars-apostolic,  and  of  districts, 
not  because  religion  was  submitted  in  this  country  to  one  exceptional 
rule,  but  rather  because  they  would  prepare  the  foundation  for  the 
future  rebuilding  of  the  ordinary  hierarchy. 

"  This  is  why  we,  to  whom  it  has  been  given  by  the  grace  of  God 
to  accomplish  this  great  work,  declare  here  that  it  is  not  in  any 
manner  in  our  thoughts  or  intentions  that  the  bishops  of  England, 

38* 


450  APPENDIX. 

provided  with  the  name  and  rif!;hts  of  ordinary  bishops,  should  be 
destitute  of  any  advantages,  of  -whatever  nature  they  may  be,  which 
they  formerly  enjoyed  under  the  title  of  vicars-apostolic.  It  would 
be  contrary  to  reason  to  alloAV  any  act  of  ours  performed  at  the 
earnest  prayer  of  the  English  Catholics,  and  for  the  benefit  of  re- 
ligion, to  turn  to  their  damage.  Eather  we  cherish  the  firm  hope 
that  our  dear  children  in  Christ,  whose  alms  and  largesses  have  never 
been  wanting  to  sustain  in  England  religion,  and  the  prelates  who 
govern  there  as  vicars,  will  exercise  a  still  larger  liberality  to  the 
bishops  who  are  now  attached  by  permanent  bonds  to  the  English 
church,  in  order  that  they  may  not  be  deprived  of  temporal  aid, 
Mdiich  they  will  require  to  ornament  their  temples  and  adorn  the 
divine  service,  to  support  the  clergy  and  the  poor,  and  for  other 
ecclesiastical  services.  Finally,  lifting  the  eyes  to  the  almighty  and 
gracious  God,  from  whom  comes  our  help,  we  supplicate  him  with 
all  instance,  obsecration,  and  action  of  grace,  to  confirm  by  divine 
grace  all  that  we  have  decreed  for  the  good  of  the  church,  and  to 
give  of  his  grace  to  those  whose  it  is  to  execute  these  decrees,  that 
they  may  feed  the  flock  of  God  committed  to  their  care,  and  that 
their  zeal  may  be  applied  to  spread  the  glory  of  his  name.  And,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  most  abundant  succour  of  celestial  grace,  we 
finally  invoke,  as  intercessors  with  God,  the  holy  Mother  of  God,  the 
blessed  apostles  St.  Peter  and  St,  Paul,  with  the  blessed  patrons  of 
England,  and  especially  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  in  order  that  the 
solicitude  we  have  displayed,  notwithstanding  the  insufficiency  of  our 
merit,  to  restore  the  episcopal  sees  of  England,  which  he  founded  in 
his  days  with  so  much  advantage  to  the  church,  may  likewise  re- 
dound to  the  good  of  the  Catholic  Church.  We  decree  that  this 
apostolic  letter  shall  never  he  taxed  with  subreptice  or  obreptice,  nor 
be  protested  for  default  either  of  intention  or  any  defect  w^>atever, 
but  always  be  made  valid  and  firm,  and  hold  good  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  notwithstanding  the  general  apostolic  edicts  which  have 
emanated  from  synodal,  provincial,  or  universal  councils,  the  special 
sanctions  as  well  as  the  rights  of  former  sees  in  England,  missions 
apostolic,  vicarages  constituted  in  the  progress  of  time — notwith- 
standing, in  one  word,  all  things  contrary  whatsoever.  We  likewise 
decree  that  all  which  may  be  done  to  the  contrary  by  any  one,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  knowing  or  ignorant,  in  the  name  of  any  authority 
whatever,  shall  be  without  force.  We  decree  that  copies  of  this 
letter,  signed  by  a  notary-public,  and  sealed  with  the  seal  of  au 
ecclesiastic,  shall  be  everywhere  received  as  the  expression  of  our- 
will. 

"Given  at  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  under  the  seal  of  the  fisherman, 
the  24th  of  September,  1850,  and  in  the  fifth  year  of  our  pontificate. 

*'  Cardinal  LAMURUscniNi.'^ 


APPENDIX.  451 

Cardinal  Wiseman  next  issues  the  following  pastoral  letter,  which 
was  read  in  all  the  Romish  churches : — 

THE    RESTORATION    OF   THE    ROMAN    CATHOLIC    HIERARCHY. 

"Nicholas,  by  the  divine  mercy  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  by 
the  title  of  St.  Pudentiana,  Cardinal  Priest,  Archbishop  of  West- 
minster, and  Administrator  Apostolic  of  the  Diocese  of  Southwark, 
to  the  clergy,  secular  and  regular,  and  the  faithful  of  the  said  arch- 
diocese and  diocese. 

"  The  great  work  (it  says)  is  complete ;  what  you  have  long  de- 
sired and  prayed  for  is  granted.  Your  beloved  country  has  received 
a  place  among  the  ftiir  churches  which,  normally  constituted,  form 
the  splendid  aggregate  of  Catholic  communion ;  Catholic  England 
has  been  restored  to  its  orbit  in  the  ecclesiastical  firmament,  from 
which  its  light  had  long  vanished,  and  begins  now  anew  its  course 
of  regularly  adjusted  action  round  the  centre  of  unity,  the  source  of 
jurisdiction,  of  light,  and  of  vigour.  How  wonderfully  all  this  has 
been  brought  about — how  clearly  the  hand  of  God  has  been  shown  in 
every  step,  we  have  not  now  leisure  to  relate ;  but  we  may  hope  soon 
to  recount  to  you  by  word  of  mouth.  In  the  mean  time  we  will  con- 
tent ourselves  with  assuring  you  that,  if  the  concordant  voice  of  those 
venerable  and  most  eminent  counsellors  to  whom  the  Holy  See 
commits  the  regulation  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  missionary'coun- 
tries,  if  the  overruling  of  every  variety  of  interest  and  designs,  to 
the  rendering  of  this  measure  almost  necessary,  if  the  earnest  prayers 
of  our  Holy  Pontiff  and  his  most  sacred  oblation  of  the  divine 
sacrifice,  added  to  his  own  deep  and  earnest  reflection,  can  form  to 
the  Catholic  heart  an  earnest  of  heavenly  direction,  an  assurance  that 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  who  guides  the  church,  has  here  inspired  its  su- 
preme head,  we  cannot  desire  stronger  or  more  consoling  evidence 
that  this  most  important  measure  is  from  God,  has  his  sanction  and 
blessing,  and  will  consequently  prosper.^' 


Dr.  ITllathorne,  bishop  of  Birmingham,  was  enthroned  on  Sunday 
last:  Father  Newman,  one  of  the  seceders  from  the  Protestant 
Church,  preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  said— "The  mystery  of  God's  Providence  is  now  fulfilled,  and 
though  he  did  not  recollect  any  people  on  earth  but  those  of  Great 
Britain,  who  having  once  rejected  the  religion  of  God,  were  again  re- 
stored to  the  bosom  of  the  church,  God  had  done  it  for  them.  It  was 
wonderful  in  their  eyes.  The  holy  hierarchy  had  been  restored. 
The  grave  tvas  opened,  and  Christ  ivas  coining  out  I" 


452  APPENDIX. 

The  Bishop  of  London,  ^vhose  sympathy  with  the  bishop  of 
Exeter's  views  of  baptism  is  so  much  to  be  regretted  and  deplored, 
seems  recalled  to  his  earliest  and  best  conviction  by  this  invasion, 
and  thus  writes  in  reply  to  a  memorial  from  the  Westminster 
Clergy  :— 

"Fulham,  Octoter  28, 1S50. 

**  Reverend  and  dear  Brethren, — The  sentiments  expressed  in  the 
address  which  you  have  presented  to  me  are  in  entire  accordance 
with  mine,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  they  will  be  responded  to  by  the 
unanimous  feeling  of  Protestant  England. 

"  The  recent  assumption  of  authority  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  in 
pretending  to  parcel  out  this  country  into  new  dioceses,  and  to 
appoint  archbishops  and  bishops  to  preside  over  them,  without  the 
consent  of  the  Sovereign,  is  a  schismatical  act  without  precedent,  and 
one  which  would  not  be  tolerated  by  the  government  of  any  Roman 
Catholic  kingdom.  I  trust  that  it  will  not  be  quietly  submitted  to  by 
our  own. 

"  Hitherto,  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  the  pope  has  been 
contented  with  providing  for  the  spiritual  superitendence  of  his  ad- 
herents in  this  country,  by  the  appointment  of  vicars-apostolic — 
bishops  who  took  their  titles  as  such,  not  from  any  real  or  pretended 
sees  in  England,  but  from  some  imaginary  dioceses  in  pariibus 
injidelium.  In  this  there  was  no  assumption  of  spiritual  authority 
over  any  other  of  the  subjects  of  the  English  Crown  than  those  of 
his  own  communion.  But  the  appointment  of  bishops  to  preside  over 
new  dioceses  in  England,  constituted  by  a  Papal  brief,  is  virtually  a 
denial  of  the  legitimate  authority  of  the  British  Sovereign  and  the 
English  episcopate ;  a  denial  also  of  the  validity  of  our  orders,  and 
an  assertion  of  spiritual  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  Christian  people 
of  the  realm. 

"  That  it  is  regarded  in  this  light  by  the  pope's  adherents  in  this 
country  is  apparent  from  the  language  in  which  they  felicitate  them- 
selves upon  this  arrogant  attempt  to  stretch  his  authority  beyond  its 
proper  limits.  A  journal  which  is  generally  believed  to  express  the 
sentiments  of  a  large  portion  of  them  at  least,  (not,  I  believe,  of  all,) 
points  out,  in  the  following  words,  the  difference  between  the  vicars- 
apostolic  and  the  pretended  diocesan  bishops.  Alluding  to  certain 
members  of  our  church,  who  are  accused  of  a  leaning  toward  Rome, 
it  says — '  In  this  act  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  they  have  that  open  declara- 
tion for  which  they  have  been  so  long  professing  to  look.  Rome, 
said  they,  has  never  yet  formally  spoken  against  us.  Iler  bishops, 
indeed,  are  sent  here,  not  as  having  any  local  authority,  but  as  pas- 
tors without  flocks ;  bishops  of  Tadmor  in  the  Desert,  or  of  the  ruins 
of  Babylon,  intruding  into  territories  which  they  cannot  formally 
claim  as  their  own.     This  specious  argument  is  once  for  all  silenced. 


APPENDIX.  458 

Rome  has  more  than  spoken — she  has  spoken  and  acted.  She  has 
again  divided  our  hind  into  dioceses,  and  has  placed  over  each  a 
pastor,  to  whom  all  baptized  persons,  without  exception,  within  that 
district,  are  openly  commanded  to  submit  themselves  in  all  eccle- 
siastical matters  under  pain  of  damnation ;  and  the  Anglican  sees, 
those  ghosts  of  realities  long  passed  away,  are  utterly  ignored.' 

"  The  advisers  of  the  pope  have  skilfully  contrived  so  to  shape 
this  encroachment  upon  the  rights  and  honour  of  the  Crown  and 
Church  of  England,  that  his  nominees  to  imaginary  dioceses  will  not 
actually  offend  against  the  letter  of  the  law  by  assuming  the  titles 
which  he  has  pretended  to  confer  upon  them  ;  but  that  it  is  contrary 
to  the  spirit  of  the  law  there  can  be  no  doubt.  As  little  doubt  can 
there  be  that  it  is  intended  as  an  insult  to  the  sovereign  and  the 
church  of  this  country. 

"  With  respect  to  the  conduct  proper  to  be  pursued  by  you  on  this 
occasion,  it  ought,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  temperate  and  charitable, 
but  firm  and  uncompromising. 

*'  You  will  do  well  to  call  the  attention  of  your  people  to  the  real 
purport  of  this  open  assault  upon  our  reformed  church ;  and  to  take 
measures  for  petitioning  the  Legislature  to  carry  out  the  principle  of 
the  statute  which  forbids  all  persons,  other  than  the  persons  autho- 
rized by  law,  to  assume  or  use  the  name,  style,  or  title  of  any  arch- 
bishop of  any  province,  bishop  of  any  bishopric,  or  dean  of  any 
deanery  in  England  or  Ireland,  by  extending  the  prohibition  to  any 
pretended  diocese  or  deaneries  in  these  realms. 

"  It  is  possible  that  such  prohibitions  might  not  have  the  effect  of 
preventing  the  assumption  of  titles  by  the  Papal  bishops,  when  deal- 
ing with  their  own  adherents :  but  it  would  make  the  assumption 
unlawful,  and  it  would  mark  the  determination  of  the  people  of  this 
country  not  to  permit  any  foreign  prelate  to  exercise  spiritual  juris 
diction  over  them. 

"  But  there  are  other  duties  besides  those  of  protesting  and  peti- 
tioning, the  performance  of  which  seems  to  be  specially  required  of 
us  by  the  present  emergency.  Unwilling  as  I  am  to  encourage  con- 
troversial preaching,  I  must  say  that  we  are  driven  to  have  recourse 
to  it  by  this  attempted  usurpation  of  authority  on  the  part  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  and  by  the  activity  and  subtlety  of  his  emissaries 
in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  We  are  surely  called  upon  for  a  more 
than  ordinary  measure  of  watchfulness  and  diligence  in  fulfilling  the 
promise  which  we  gave  when  we  were  admitted  to  the  priesthood,  '  to 
banish  and  drive  away  all  erroneus  and  strange  doctrimcs  contrary 
to  God's  word.' 

"Let  us  be  careful,  as  well  in  our  public  ministrations  as  in  our 
private  monitions  and  exhortations,  to  refrain  from  doing  or  saying 
any  thing  which  may  seem  to  indicate  a  wish  to  make  the  slightest 


454  APPENDIX. 

approach  to  a  church  which,  far  from  manifesting*  a  desire  to  lay 
aside  any  of  the  errors  and  superstitions  which  compelled  us  to 
separate  from  it,  is  now  reasserting  them  with  a  degree  of  boldness 
unknown  since  the  Reformation ;  is  adding  new  credenda  to  its 
articles  of  faith,  and  is  undisguisedly  teaching  its  members  the 
duty  of  worshipping  the  creature  with  the  worship  due  only  to  the 
Creator. 

"After  all,  I  am  much  inclined  to  believe  that  in  having  recourse 
to  the  extreme  measure  which  has  called  forth  your  address,  the 
Court  of  Rome  has  been  ill-advised  as  regards  the  extension  of  its 
influence  in  this  country,  and  that  it  has  taken  a  false  step.  That 
step  will,  I  am  convinced,  tend  to  strengthen  the  Protestant  feeling 
of  the  people  at  large,  and  will  cause  some  persons  to  hesitate  and 
draw  back  who  are  disposed  to  make  concessions  to  Rome,  under  a 
mistaken  impression  that  she  has  abated  somewhat  of  her  ancient 
pretensions,  and  that  a  union  of* the  tAvo  churches  might  possibly  be 
effected  without  the  sacrificing  of  any  fundamental  principle.  Hardly 
any  thing  could  more  effectually  dispel  that  illusion  than  the  recent 
proceeding  of  the  Roman  Pontiff.  He  virtually  condemns  and  ex- 
communicates the  whole  English  Church,  sovereign,  bishops,  clergy, 
and  laity,  and  shuts  the  door  against  every  scheme  of  compre- 
hension save  that  which  should  take  for  its  basis  an  entire  and  un- 
conditional submission  to  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 

"  That  it  may  please  the  Divine  Head  of  the  church,  who  is  the 
true  centre  of  unity  and  the  only  Infallible  Judge,  to  guide  and 
strengthen  us  in  these  days  of  rebuke  and  trial,  to  open  our  eyes  to 
the  dangers  we  are  in  by  our  unhappy  divisions,  and  to  unite  us  in 
one  holy  bond  of  truth  and  peace,  of  faith  and  charity,  is  the  earnest 
prayer, 

"  Reverend  and  dear  Brethren, 

"  Of  your  affectionate  friend  and  Bishop, 

(Signed)  "C.J.LONDON. 

"  To  the  Rev.  the  Clergy  of  the  City  and 
Liberties  of  AYestminster.^' 


Without  making  any  remarks  on  the  measure  of  1829,  that  altered 
BO  materially  the  position  of  Roman  Catholics  in  England,  it  is  not 
uninteresting  to  recall  to  recollection  the  words  of  Lord  Eldon,  ad- 
dressed to  the  House  of  Lords  on  that  occasion. 

"  I  know  that  sooner  or  later  this  bill  will  overturn  the  aristocracy 
and  the  monarchy.  What  I  have  stated  is  my  notion  of  the  danger 
to  the  establishment.     Have  they  not  Roman  Catholic  archbishi^ps 


APPENDIX.  465 

for  every  Protestant  archbishop  ?  Eoman  Catholic  deans  for  every 
Protestant  dean  ?  Did  not  the  Roman  Catholic  ecclesiastics  dispute 
against  Henry  VIII.  in  defence  of  the  power  of  the  pope  ?  And,  in 
Mary's  time,  were  not  the  laws  aflocting  the  Roman  Catholics  re- 
pealed, not  by  tlie  authority  of  Parliament,  but  through  the  influence 
of  the  -legate  of  the  pope?  And,  even  though  you  suppress  these 
Roman  Catholics  who  utter  those  seditious,  treasonable,  abominable, 
and  detestable  speeches,  others  will  arise  who  will  utter  speeches 
more  treasonable,  more  abominable,  and  more  detestable.  No  sincere 
Roman  Catholic  could,  or  did  look  for  less  than  a  Roman  Catholic 
king,  and  a  Roman  Catholic  Parliament.  Their  lordships  might 
flatter  themselves  that  the  dangers  he  had  anticipated  were  visionary, 
and  God  forbid  that  he  should  say  that  those  who  voted  for  the  third 
reading  of  the  bill  will  not  have  done  so,  conscientiously  believing 
that  no  danger  exists,  or  can  be  apprehended  from  it.  But,  in  so 
voting,  they  had  not  that  knowledge  of  the  danger  in  which  they 
were  placing  the  great,  the  paramount  interests  of  this  Protestant 
state ;  they  had  not  that  knowledge  of  its  true  interests  and  situation 
which  they  ought  to  have.  Those  with  whom  we  are  dealing  are 
too  wary  to  apprize  you,  by  any  indiscreet  conduct,  of  the  danger  to 
which  you  are  exposed.  When  (said  the  noble  earl,  in  a  tone 
peculiarly  solemn  and  impressive) — when  those  dangers  shall  have 
arrived,  I  shall  have  been  consigned  to  the  urn,  the  sepulchre,  and 
mortality ;  but  that  they  will  arrive,  I  have  no  more  doubt  than  that 
I  yet  continue  to  exist.  You  hear  the  words  of  a  man  who  will  soon 
be  called  to  his  great  account.  God  forbid,  therefore,  that  I  should 
raise  my  warning  voice  did  I  not  deem  this  measure  a  breach  of 
every  notion  that  I  have  of  a  civil  contract — a  breach  of  every  article 
of  the  constitution,  and  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  those  oaths  which  I 
have  taken  to  my  king  and  to  that  constitution.  Pardon,  my  lords, 
a  man  far  advanced  in  years,  who  is  willing  to  give  up  his  existence 
to  avert  the  dangers  with  which  all  he  loves,  all  he .  reveres,  are 
threatened.  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  had  rather  not  be  living  to- 
morrow morning,  than,  on  awaking,  find  that  I  had  consented  to  this 
measure.  Believing  it  as  I  do,  after  all  the  consideration  which  I  have 
given  it,  to  be  an  abrogation  of  all  those  laws  which  I  deem  to  be 
necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  church — a  violation  of  those  laws  which  I 
hold  to  be  as  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the  throne  as  of  the 
church,  and  as  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  the  lords  and  commons 
of  this  realm  as  to  that  of  the  king  and  of  our  holy  religion  ; — feeling 
all  this,  I  repeat  that  I  would  rather  cease  to  exist,  than  upon  awak- 
ing to-morrowmorning,  find  that  I  had  consented  to  a  measure  fraught 
with  evils  so  imminent  and  so  deadly,  and  of  which,  had  I  not  solemnly 
expressed  this  my  humble  but  firm  conviction,  I  should  have  been  act- 
ing the  part  of  a  traitor  to  my  country,  my  sovereign,  and  my  God." 


456  APPENDIX. 

LORD   JOHN   RUSSELL'S    LETTER 

One  of  the  redeeming  signs  of  the  times  is  the  following  noble 
letter  from  the  prime-minister  of  England.  It  is  as  much  the  ex- 
ponent of  his  own  feelings,  I  doubt  not,  as  it  is  the  evidence  of  the 
depth  and  strength  of  the  current  of  indignation  that  has  set  in 
against  the  daring  intrusion  of  the  "  Little  Horn." 

In  all  probability  the  steps  taken  by  Pius  IX.,  so  much  in  advance 
of  our  expectations,  will  hasten  his  approaching  ruin. 

"  Quem  Deus  vult  perdere  prius  dementat,"  seems  an  axiom  sin- 
gularly applicable  here. 

The'  Papal  invasion  is  worth  having,  for  the  sake  of  the  hidden 
Protestantism  it  has  manifested,  and  the  dormant  feeling  which  it  has 
awakened. 

"TO    THE    RIGHT    REV.    THE    BISHOP    OF    DURHAM. 

"  My  dear  Lord, — I  agree  with  you  in  considering  *  the  late  ag- 
gression of  the  pope  upon  our  Protestantism'  as  '  insolent  and 
insidious,'  and  I  therefore  feel  as  indignant  as  you  can  do  upon  the 
subject. 

"  I  not  only  promoted  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  the  claims  of  the 
Koman  Catholics  to  all  civil  rights,  but  I  thought  it  right,  and  even 
desirable,  that  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
should  be  the  means  of  giving  instruction  to  the  numerous  Irish 
immigrants  in  London  and  elsewhere,  who  without  such  help  would 
have  been  left  in  heathen  ignorance. 

"This  might  have  been  done,  however,  without  any  such  innova- 
tion as  that  which  we  have  now  seen. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  confound  the  recent  measures  of  the  pope 
with  the  division  of  Scotland  into  dioceses  by  the  Episcopal  Church, 
or  the  arrangement  of  districts  in  England  by  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
ference. 

"  There  is  an  assumption  of  power  in  all  the  documents  which  have 
come  from  Rome — a  pretension  to  supremacy  over  the  realm  of  Eng- 
land, and  a  claim  to  sole  and  undivided  sway,  which  is  inconsistent 
with  the  queen's  supremacy,  wnth  the  rights  of  our  bishops  and 
clergy,  and  with  the  spiritual  independence  of  the  nation,  as  asserted 
even  in  Roman  Catholic  times. 

"  I  confess,  however,  that  my  alarm  is  not  equal  to  my  indigna- 
tion. 

"Even  if  it  shall  appear  that  the  ministers  and  servants  of  the 
pope  in  this  country  have  not  transgressed  the  law,  I  feel  persuaded 
that  we  are  strong  enough  to  repel  any  outward  attacks.  The 
liberty  of  Protestantism  has  been  enjoyed  too  long  in  England  to 
allow  of  any  successful  attempt  to  impose  a  foreign  yoke  upon  our 


APPENDIX.  457 

minds  and  consciences.  No  foreign  prince  or  potentate  will  be  per- 
mitted to  fasten  his  fetters  upon  a  nation  which  has  so  long  and  so 
nobly  vindicated  its  right  to  freedom  of  opinion,  civil,  political,  and 
religious. 

"  Upon  this  subject,  then,  I  will  only  say  that  the  present  state  of 
the  law  shall  be  carefully  examined,  and  the  propriety  of  adopting 
any  proceedings  with  reference  to  the  present  assumptions  of  power 
deliberately  considered. 

"  There  is  a  danger,  however,  which  alarms  me  much  more  than 
any  aggression  of  a  foreign  sovereign. 

"  Clergymen  of  our  own  church,  who  have  subscribed  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles,  and  acknowledged  in  explicit  terms  the  queen's  su- 
premacy, have  been  the  most  forward  in  leading  their  flocks,  '  step 
by  step,  to  the  very  verge  of  the  precipice.'  The  honour  paid  to 
saints,  the  claim  of  infallibility  for  the  church,  the  superstitious  use 
of  the  sign  of  the  cross,  the  muttering  of  the  Liturgy  so  as  to  dis- 
guise the  language  in  which  it  is  written,  the  recommendation  of 
auricular  confession,  and  the  administration  of  penance  and  absolu- 
tion— all  these  things  are  pointed  out  by  clergymen  of  the  Church 
of  England  as  worthy  of  adoption,  and  are  now  openly  reprehended 
by  the  Bishop  of  London  in  his  Charge  to  the  clergy  of  his  diocese. 

"  AVhat,  then,  is  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  a  foreign 
prince  of  no  great  power,  compared  to  the  danger  within  the  gates 
from  the  unworthy  sons  of  the  Church  of  England  herself? 

*'  I  have  little  hope  that  the  propounders  and  framers  of  these 
innovations  will  desist  from  their  insidious  course.  But  I  rely  with 
confidence  on  the  people  of  England ;  and  I  will  not  bate  a  jot  of 
heart  or  hope,  so  long  as  the  glorious  principles  and  the  immortal 
martyrs  of  the  Reformation  shall  be  held  in  reverence  by  the  great 
mass  of  a  nation  which  looks  with  contempt  on  the  mummeries  of 
superstition,  and  with  scorn  at  the  laborious  endeavours  which  are 
now  making  to  confine  the  intellect  and  enslave  the  soul. 

"I  remain,  with  great  respect,  &c. 

"J.  Russell. 

"  Doioning  street,  Nov.  4." 

39 


INDEX, 


Absolution,  in  ancient  offices,  simply 
a  prayer,  not  a  judicial  act,  398. 

Accidental,  nothing  is,  81. 

Allusions,  scriptural,  instances,  of,  395. 

Ancient  of  days,  who?  241;  described 
by  Daniel,  242  ;  described  by  John, 
242 ;  comes  before  the  Millennium, 
246  ;  what  follows  revelation  of, 
246. 

Ancient  prophecy  echoed  by  our  Sa- 
viour, 417. 

Apostles  refer  to  Book  of  Daniel,  22 ; 
they  all  believed  the  Book  of  Daniel 
inspired,  23. 

Artaxerxes,  third  edict  given  by,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  his  reign,  387. 

Atonement,  objections  to,  329 ;  nature 
of  344 ;  considered,  353  ;  joyful  news, 
358  ;  faith  in,  makes  happy  and  safe, 
359 ;  we  need  none  but  Christ's  to 
be  delivered  from  sin,  367. 

Austria  smitten  second  by  the  stone, 
103. 

Authenticity  of  Book  of  Daniel,  25. 


B 


Babylon,  apostasy  of  the  earth,  to  be 
destroyed  by  Christ's  kingdom,  114. 

Babylon,  description  of,  by  Jeremiah, 
chap,  xxvii.  5-8,  61 ;  Bible  predic- 
tions against,  61 ;  description  of 
siege  of,  65  ;  modern  travellers  de- 
scribe complete  ruin  of,  67;  its  pow- 
er, duration  of,  68  ;  type  of  desti'ue- 
tion  of,  described  in  the  Apocalypse, 
68. 

Babylon,  the  king  of,  his  likes  and  dis- 
likes, 33 ;    like  the  world,  33 ;   his 


wishes,  33 ;  his  reason  for  changing 
the  names  of  the  Hebrew  youths,  34; 
his  endeavours  to  convert  the  three 
Hebrew  youths,  34. 

Baptism,  not  surely  and  always  rege- 
neration, 112. 

Beast,  wild,  a  symbol  of  a  nation  with- 
out the  gospel  of  Jesus,  226. 

Belly  and  thighs  of  brass,  the  Graeco- 
Macedonian,  or  thii-d  universal  king- 
dom, 101. 

Belshazzar,  festival  of,  women  present 
at,  25;  feast  of,  166;  not  necessa- 
rily sinful,  166;  the  sin  that  charac- 
terized it,  167;  its  accompaniments, 
170. 

Bible,  the  truth  of,  nothing  insignifi- 
cant which  establishes  it,  26;  change 
in  all,  except,  84  ;  reasons  for  cleav- 
ing to  it,  235  ;  should  be  possessed  iu 
our  hearts,  236  ;  the  secret  of  a  coun- 
try's safety,  364. 

Body,  the,  kings  may  control,  122. 

Breast  and  arms  of  silver,  the  Medo- 
Persian,  or  second  universal  king- 
dom, 101. 

Business,  adopt  that  which  requires  no 
sacrifice  of  principle,  53. 


Ceremonies  and  forms  evanescent,  105. 

Channing,  Dr.,  remarks  on  his  creed, 
343. 

Charlemagne,  56. 

Children,  hearts  of,  tender,  31 ;  undu- 
tiful,  one  reason  why  they  are  so, 
54;  should  be  accustomed  to  self- 
sacrifice,  218;  should  be  taught  to 
pray,  218  ;  should  have  heart  as  well 
as  head  education,  219. 

459 


469 


INDEX. 


Chrism,  meaning  of,  373. 

Christ,  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands, 
92  ;  his  kingdom  is  secondly  a  king- 
dom of  persons,  112;  coming  of, 
description  of,  244 ;  comes  with  the 
speed  of  lightning,  245 ;  his  death 
expiatory,  328 ;  voluntary,  329  ,;  ac- 
companiments of,  peculiar,  330  ;  ac- 
companied by  miracles,  331 ;  leading 
descriptions  of,  332  ;  appellatives  of, 
332  ;  commercial  appellatives  of,  335; 
sacrificial  appellatives  of,  336;  na- 
ture of,  objective  and  occasional,  338; 
nature  of,  remote  relation  or  final 
decision,  340 ;  nature  of,  expressive 
of  divine  action,  342;  his  mission, 
one  end  of  it  to  seal  up  the  vision 
and  prophecy,  371 ;  the  Holy  One 
of  God,  372;  anointing  of,  what  is 
meant  by,  372 ;  is  the  Key  to  unlock 
the  Psalms,  374  ;  cut  off  in  the  midst 
of  the  last  seventy  weeks,  390 ;  his 
preaching  eminently  popular,  390 ; 
the  true  Melchisedec,  the  King  of 
righteousness,. 397;  every  action  and 
word  of,  bear  the  stamp  and  super- 
scription of  Messiah  the  Prince,  397; 
to  add  to  his  laws  is  treason,  397; 
his  law,  and  law  of  Caasar,  come 
sometimes  into  collision,  397 ;  as 
King,  bestows  forgiveness,  398  ;  can 
alone  absolve,  398 ;  as  King,  sends 
forth  ministers  of  the  gospel,  399  ; 
the  King,  gives  the  Holy  Spirit,  400 ; 
in  his  kingly  oflBce,  will  decide  at 
the  judgment-day,  400 ;  his  kingly 
ofiice  intransferable,  402  ;  Pi-ince  of 
Peace,  403 ;  his  kingdom,  the  en- 
trance into  it,  406;  his  kingdom, 
comes  quietly,  406. 

Christian,  a,  does  not  live  to  himself, 
209. 

Christians,  real,  need  not  to  be  con- 
vinced of  inspiration  of  Daniel,  23 ; 
many  like  Naaman,  43. 

Christianity,  inward,  the  church's 
strength,  106. 

Christmas,  Christ  not  born  on,  but  be- 
fore it,  389. 

Church  government,  not  the  main 
thing,  52. 

Church  of  God,  captive  in  Babylon, 
58. 

Church  of  Rome,  constructed  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Roman  empire,  77;  what 
she  depends  on  for  her  power,  121; 


secures  the  homage  of  all  the  senses, 
121. 

Church,  the,  Christ  has  been  with  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  132;  de- 
scription of,  132;  Tekel  applied  to, 
191;  a  Christian,  when,  203. 

Coming  of  Christ,  passages  which  an- 
nounce it,  241. 

Commands  of  God,  never  hesitate  to 
comply  with,  130. 

Condemnation,  the  greatest,  a  neg- 
lected gospel,  a  rejected  Saviour, 
375. 

Conduct,  a  Christian's,  estimated  by  the 
world,  194. 

Confession,  two  sorts,  303 ;  true,  is  full 
and  explicit,  303  ;  of  Daniel,  specific, 
304 ;  of  sins,  must  be  to  God  himself, 
305.. 

Congregations,  all  should  have  schools, 
39. 

Conscience,  sin  in  the,  awful  power  of, 
210. 

Corruption,  the  greatest  when  it  is 
the  corruption  of  that  which  is  pure, 
119. 

Covenant,  one  only  confirmed  by  Christ, 
the  New  Covenant  predicted  in  Jer. 
xxxi.  31,  390;  Heb.  x.  15-18,  390; 
the  New  Testament  dispensation, 
390. 

Crucifix,  the  true,  237. 


Daniel,  exposition  of,  19 ;  figures  of, 
20;  Jews'  objections  to  Book  of,  20; 
the  author  of  Book  of,  20;  the  au- 
thor, evidence  of,  20  ;  contemporary 
of  Ezekiel,  21 ;  the  Book  of,  receiv- 
ed by  the  Jews  as  authentic,  21 ;  the 
Book  of,  translated  by- Alexandrian 
Jews,  21 ;  the  Book  of,  in  Septua- 
gint,  21;  the  Book  of,  written  partly 
in  Chaldee,  21 ;  New  Testament,  al- 
lusions to,  22  ;  allusion  to,  in  2  Thess. 
iii.  22;  the  Book  of,  alluded  to  in 
.Heb.  xi.  33,  23 ;  Book  of,  its  distinc- 
tive features,  26 ;  Book  of,  great  ob- 
ject of  it  to  depress  all  that  is  human 
and  exalt  all  that  is  divine,  27;  pro- 
phecy of,  partly  fulfilled,  27;  the 
Book  of,  a  duty  to  study,  28 ;  very 
young  when   made   a  captive,  29 ; 


INDEX. 


461 


called  a  child,  29 ;  his  reason  for 
refusing  to  eat  and  drink  the  king's 
moat  and  wine,  30;  reason  of  his 
firmness,  30  ;  had  a  religious  edu- 
cation, 30 ;  education  of,  under  God, 
the  means  of  his  preservation,  30,- 
of  noble  birth,  31,-  a  scholar,  31; 
skilled  in  all  the  learning  of  his 
times,  32 ;  a  Hebrew,  32 ;  his  ac- 
quaintance with  all  branches  of 
knowledge,  33 ;  not  like  many  mo- 
dern Christians,  36 ;  his  adherence 
to  truth  at  all  times,  36 ;  invitation 
to  study  him,  36;  date  of  the  writ- 
ing of,  proved,  39 ;  remark  about, 
39 ;  sought  duty  rather  than  smile 
of  kings,  42;  his  conduct  teaches  a 
lesson,  42 ;  faitlifulness  of,  gives  a 
tone  to  his  whole  life,  44;  trusted  in 
goodness  of  his  cause,  47;  his  gen- 
tleness and  courtesy,  47;  not  a  loser 
by  adherence  to  principle,  48 ;  ex- 
plains the  vision  of  the  king,  58 ; 
explains  what  the  image  represent- 
ed, 58;  the  reason  why  he  consented 
to  be  the  head  of  the  astrologers, 
175 ;  reason  why  he  prayed  at  an 
open  window,  203;  prayer  sustained 
the  inner  life  of,  204;  his  nearness 
to  God,  in  private  that  made  him 
consistent  in  public,  204;  his  life  in- 
strumental, in  God's  hand,  in  con- 
version of  Darius,  208 ;  educated  in 
the  gospel,  217;  self-sacrifice  a  result 
of  his  education,  217;  a  sketch  of, 
by  an  ancient  writer,  221;  intensity 
of  his  prayer,  315;  the  time  he 
prayed,  323 ;  his  religion  and  ours 
the  same,  420. 

Darius,  his  decree,  215;  edict  of,  se- 
cond period,  recorded  in  Ezra  vi., 
382. 

Death  not  a  natural  thing,  207;  the 
Christian  victorious  over,  207;  only 
the  removal  to  life  in  the  case  of  a 
Christian,  207. 

Deity,  pictures  of,  objectionable,  242. 

Dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  135. 

Dreams,  conclusions  to  be  come  to  re- 
specting them,  69. 

Duties  of  to-day  best  preparation  for 
to-morrow's  trials,  50. 

Duty  not  a  thing  of  longitude  and  lati- 
tude, 41 ;  the  same  everywhere,  41 ; 
manner  in  which  Daniel  discharged  I 
his,  201.  I 

39 


E 


Early  martyi's,  Shadrach,  Meshach, 
and  Abcd-nego,  117. 

Earthly  grandeur  treated  in  Scripture 
as  fading  grass,  76 ;  minds,  charac- 
teristics of,  188. 

Edict,  fourth,  given  to  Nehemiah  in 
the  20th  year  of  Artaxerxos,  386. 

Education,  Christian,  a  blessing,  39. 

Elliot,  Mr.,  his  belief  drawn  from  Scrip- 
ture, 104. 

Empire  of  head  of  gold,  61;  of  Cyrus 
described  by  Xenophon  and  Hero- 
dotus, 74;  silver,  overthrown  by 
Alexander,  75 ;  Roman,  much  said 
of  it  by  Daniel,  76 ;  fourth  univer- 
sal, further  proved  by  Gibbon,  78; 
the  iron,  87. 

Empires,  the  four,  their  names,  59 ; 
Medo-Persian  and  Grasco-Maeedo- 
nian,  72  ;  four  universal  only,  101. 

Eucharist  not  a  fast  but  a  feast,  360. 

Events  often  turning-points  in  one's 
character,  43. 

Evidence  conclusive  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah,  377. 


Facts  recorded  in  the  Bible  are  attest- 
ed by  heathen  historians,  120;  tend- 
ing to  prove  that  the  heavens  do 
rule,  161;  a  repetition  of,  before 
stated,  223. 

Faith  not  our  Saviour,  360, 

False  religion  only  a  corrujjtion  of  the 
true,  119. 

Fasting  considered,  271;  true,  the  na- 
ture of,  274;  the  end  of,  275;  to  be 
observed  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the 
letter,  277;  advocated  by  Jerome, 
280. 

Feast  of  Belshazzar,  not  necessarily 
sinful,  166;  the  sin  that  character- 
ized it,  167. 

France  smitten  by  the  stone,  103. 


G 


Gates  frequently  referred  to  in  the  Ei- 

ble,  118. 
Gentile  law  of  God's  worship,  201. 


462 


INDEX. 


Germany  smitten  third  by  the  stone, 
103. 

Gibbon,  his  description  of  Koran,  250, 

God  our  only  refuge  in  trouble,  96; 
he  rules,  and  in  this  fact  he  designs 
good  to  us  and  glory  to  himself,  158; 
he  reigns,  evidences  that,  lfi7;  weighs 
all  motives  and  men,  180 ;  never  for- 
sakes his  people  till  they  forsake  him, 
442. 

God's  people,  their  frequent  expe- 
rience, 59  ;  word  more  powerful  than 
princes,  67 ;  doings  to  be  viewed 
in  connection  with  another  world, 
160. 

Gold,  fall  of  the  head  of,  65;  head  of, 
the  Babylonian  or  first  u.niversal 
kingdom,  101. 

Good,  all  things  work  for,  217. 

Gospel,  the  character  of,  108. 

Grace,  pray  for,  206. 

Grandeur,  earthly,  described  in  Scrip- 
ture as  fading  grass,  75. 


Heathens  note  a  purer  life  sooner  than 
a  pure  creed,  196. 

Heaven,  we  must  be  fitted  for  it  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  367. 

Hebrew  youths,  circumstances  of,  39  ; 
the  beautiful  answer  of,  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, 124;  felt  duty  to  God 
greater  than  loyalty  to  an  earthly 
king,  129;  their  faith  in  God's  pro- 
mises, 131. 

Herodotus,  Babylon  described  by,  61 ; 
describes  siege  of  Babylon,  66 ;  de- 
scribes empire  of  Cyrus,  74. 

Hesitation  wrong  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion, 132. 

High-Priest,  Jesus  is  the,  of  his  church, 
395. 

History,  the  echo  of  truth  in  the  pro- 
phecies of  God,  56;  unconscious 
echo  of  God's  prophecy,  79. 

History  and  historians  attest  the  truth 
of  God's  word,  421. 

Hooker,  a  passage  from,  221. 

Horn,  little,  225  ;  the  Papal  power  now 
reigning  at  Rome,  227;  prophecy  of, 
fulfilled,  228 ;  another  feature  to 
identify  it  with  Papal  power,  230 ; 
wasting  away  of,  238 ;  what  meant 


by,  254;  rise  and  progress  of,  257j 
when  did  it  begin  to  fail  ?  262. 

Horns,  three,  the  three  states  of  the 
church,  103. 

Houses,  in  taking  them  prefer  those 
which  are  nearest  to  a  gospel  mi- 
nistry, 52. 

Howell's,  Mr.,  a  saying  of,  107. 


Image,  the  mystic  stone,  smiting  the, 
86 ;  ten  toes  of  ten  kingdoms,  102. 

India,  use  of  secular  education  in,  32. 

Isaiah  and  Daniel,  of  a  royal  tribe, 
31. 

Islamism  adverse  to  Christianity,  262. 

Italy,  smitten  fourth  by  the  stone,  103. 


Jerome  advocated  fasting  and  monke- 
ry, 280. 

Jerusalem,  Daniel's  prayer  for,  appro- 
priate to  present  times,  313 ;  com- 
mand to  rebuild  it,  the  commencing 
period  of  the  seventy  weeks,  379; 
its  destruction,  409  ;  temple  of,  only 
possible  remains,  a  stone,  410;  what 
Christ  says  in  predicting  its  ruin, 
410  ;  God's  anger  to  it  has  a  limit, 
415. 

Jesus  Christ,  refers  to  Book  of  Daniel, 
22 ;  his  greatness  in  minute  afiairs 
of  this  life,  45 ;  his  faithfulness  in 
great  as  well  as  in  little  things,  45  ; 
works  of,  contrasted  with  those  of 
Mohammed,  261 :  grand  characteris- 
tics of  death  of,  376 ;  results  of  death 
of,  embodied  in  Dan.  ix.  24,  376;  the 
Messiah,  irresistible  evidence  that  he 
is,  393;  the  object  and  hope  of  all 
true  believers,  395. 

Jews,  their  objections  to  Book  of  Da- 
niel, 20  ;  the  gathering  to  their  own 
land,  114;  reason  why  they  always 
looked  to  Jerusalem  when  they 
prayed,  203;  law  of  their  worship, 
204. 

Jos'ephus  asserts  authenticity  of  Da- 
niel, 46;  his  comments  on  Daniel, 
49 ;  some  account  of,  49 ;  like  our 
modern  philosophers,  49 ;  a  fact  re- 
lated by,  212. 

Judgment-day,  description  of,  400. 


INDEX. 


463 


K 


Kingdom,  fourth,  strong  as  iron,  73. 

Kingdom,  Christ's  first,  is  a  kingdom 
of  principles,  105. 

Kingdom  of  God,  main  elements  of, 
107. 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  external  charac- 
teristics of,  112  ;  a  catholic  kingdom, 
113;  united  kingdom,  113;  a  holy 
kingdom,  113  ;  to  destroy  all  other 
kingdoms,  and  cover  the  earth,  114; 
comes  speedily,  115  ;  saints  only  will 
occupy,  247 ;  description  of,  247. 

Kingdoms,  universal,  four,  55. 

Kingdoms,  part  of,  now  severed  from 
the  pope,  103. 

Kings  should  be  prayed  for,  that  they 
may  have  grace  not  to  set  up  any 
idols,  120. 

Knowledge,  secular,  not  to  be  discou- 
raged, 50. 

Koran,  Gibbon's  description  of,  259. 


Law,  by  deeds  of,  none  can  be  justified, 

184. 
Layard,  his  disclosures,  60. 
Learning,  man's,  a  great  aid  in  proving 

the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  26. 
Lessons,  practical,  233. 
Living     religion,    the    great    defence 

against  Puseyism  and  Popery,  236. 


M 


Malachi  prophesies  the  downfall  of  the 

Jews,  412. 
Man,  prayerless,  is  graceless,  205. 
Marshal  Massena,  anecdote  of,  200. 
Martyrs,  when  required,  receive  from 

God  a  martyr's  spirit,  124. 
Men,  all  weighed   by  God,  181 ;  their 

affairs  God  rules,  420. 
Messiah,  important  offices  of,  395. 
Messiahship,  pretendei'S  to,  no  disproof 

of  claims  of  Jesus,  378. 
Millennium,  description  of,  247. 
Milton,  a  passage  from,  231. 
Minister,  a,  has  no  power  to  absolve 

from  sin,  399 ;  none  true  but  those 

commissioned  by  Jesus,  399. 


Mohammed,  his  mission,  Gibbon  testi- 
fies to,  261 ;  a  finished  hypocrite, 
262. 

Monkery  opposed  by  Vigilantius,  280. 

Moses  predicted  the  downfall  of  the 
Jews,  412. 

Mother,  a,  her  lessons,  39. 

Motives,  all  weighed  by  God,  180. 

Music,]S[ebuchadnezzar  knew  the  charm 
of,  121. 


N 


Name,  Christian,  a  beautiful  thing,  40. 

Napoleon,  56. 

Nation,  a,  its  duties,  190. 

Nation,  Jewish,  great  end  and  purpose 
of,  392. 

Nations,  Tekel  may  be  applied  to,  190. 

Nebuchadnezzar  tried  an  artful  plan 
to  convert  the  three  Hebrew  youths:, 
40,  41 ;  his  conduct  quite  Popish, 
118 ;  the  image  that  appeared  to, 
120;  his  dream  and  the  interpreta- 
tion, 135  ;  the  epistle  of,  pervaded  by 
missionary  feeling,  137;  his  dream 
expatiated  on,  138 ;  his  experience 
teaches  the  blessings  of  afiiiction, 
143. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  on  Daniel,  19. 

Newton,  Bishop,  19. 

Newton,  John,  remark  about,  39. 

Nineveh,  its  destruction,  60. 


Offering  and  oblation  ceased  six  months 
before  and  eighteen  months  after 
Christ's  death,  392. 

Oratorios,  remarks  on,  169. 


Palestine,  present  state  of,  fulfils  the 
prediction,  413 ;  Chateaubriand  de- 
picts present  state  of,  414. 

Parents  spoken  to,  51. 

Pastor,  his  office  not  kingly,  402. 

Peace,  the  consequence  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  107;  Christianity  gives 
perfect,  201;  confidence  in  God  gives 
perfect,  201;  the  Christian  enjoys 
even   in   suffering,   207;    true   way 


464 


INDEX. 


to  have  it,  403 ;  none  to  the  wicked, 
404 

Pentecost,  the  evidence  of  Christ's 
kingly  office,  400. 

People  of  God,  characteristics  of,  188 ; 
a  suffering  people,  207. 

Peter  believed  Book  of  Daniel  inspired, 
22. 

Popery  more  corrupt  than  heathenism, 
119. 

Porphyry,  his  opinion  of  Daniel,  27. 

Porte,  or  gate,  Turkey  the  only  country 
now  using  the  word,  118. 

Prayer,  the  only  resource  in  trial,  57; 
God  answers,  57  j  necessity  of,  106; 
with  or  without  a  liturgy,  does  not 
necessarily  constitute  a  person  a 
subject  of  the  true  kingdom,  112;  a 
privilege  as  well  as  a  duty,  204; 
efficacy  of,  269 ;  the  age  of,  still  lasts, 
270 ;  importance  of,  cannot  be  over- 
rated, 283 ;  hymn  on,  283 ;  the  end 
of,  284;  works  no  change  in  God, 
285  ;  not  an  atonement  for  sin,  286  ; 
not  a  penance,  286;  should  be  ad- 
dressed to  God  as  our  Father,  290 ; 
should  be  ofFered  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  291;  should  be  in  the  strength 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  291;  should  bo 
intense,  earnest,  293 ;  should  be 
made  for  temporal  blessings,  293; 
should  be  made  chiefly  for  spiritual 
blessings,  294 ;  to  be  made  for  foes 
as  well  as  friends,  296;  encourage- 
ment to,  296  ;  real  intensity  of,  314; 
Christian  elements  of,  316;  not  to 
be  for  ourselves  alone,  318 ;  to  be 
combined  with  pains-taking,  320  ;  of 
Daniel,  the  answer  to  it  was  imme- 
diate, 325. 

Predictions  of  St.  Paul,  the  echo  of  the 
prophecies  of  Daniel,  239. 

Pride,  God  will  abase,  144 ;  the  great 
lesson  taught  in  the  dream  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, 144;  the  elements  of 
human,  147;  power  another  source 
of,  147;  various  sources  of,  147;  the 
gospel  alone  can  humble,  149. 

Priests,no  such  office  in  Christ's  church, 
399. 

Prime-minister,  Daniel  an  honest,  196. 

Princes,  God's  word  more  powerful 
than,  67. 

Principle  the  path  of  the  highest  ex- 
pediency, 132. 

Promises  to  be  turned  into  prayer,  294. 


Prophecies,  evidence  of  the  fulfilment 
of,  65. 

Prophecy,  history  of  the  echo  of,  61; 
reflected  even  in  newspapers,  84; 
study  of,  useful,  99 ;  what  it  indi- 
cates by  four  notable  horns  history 
teaches,  253;  result  of  study  of,  254; 
fulfilment  of,  useful  lessons  drawn 
from,  264;  spirit  of,  departed  from 
the  Jews,  388 ;  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  388. 

Prophets,  all  point  to  Jesus,  374;  all 
proclaim  one  Saviour,  421. 

Propositions,  three,  which  necessitate 
the  sort  of  death  Christ  suffered, 
345. 

Proverb,  a  German,  93. 

Providence  of  God  reveals  to  us  the 
truth  of  God's  prophetic  word,  391. 

Psalms  all  celebrate  Jesus,  374. 


R 


Reconciliation,  Christ  shall  bring  in, 
369. 

Refuge,  cities  of,  an  appeal  to  fly  to, 
191. 

Regeneration  not  the  consequence  of 
baptism,  112;  what  it  is,  149. 

Regime,  ecclesiastical,  not  essential  to 
the  existence  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  106. 

Religion,  to  some  a  mere  romance,  51; 
real,  to  be  showed  in  little  things  as 
well  as  great,  46;  the  great  thing, 
49 ;  true,  nothing  permanent  with- 
out, 82 ;  all  nations  without  it  dete- 
riorate, 82 ;  established  by  law,  not 
to  be  followed  unless  it  be  the  true 
one,  127 ;  evangelical,  the  religion 
of  the  Bible,  234;  one  only  true, 
445. 

Riches,  rank,  worthlessnoss  of,  98. 

Righteousness,  Christ's,  twofold,  99, 

Rite,  nor  ceremony,  neither  can  justify, 
394. 

Roman  empire,  much  said  of  it  by 
Daniel,  76;  divided  into  ten  king- 
.  doms,  102. 

Roman,  or  iron  kingdom,  the  fourth 
universal  kingdom,  101. 

Roman  Catholic,  how  contrasted  with 
the  Christian,  211. 

Rome,  the  fourth  empire  of  Daniel, 
testimony  to,  by  Gibbon,  77;  Church 


INDEX. 


4G5 


of,  to  be  swept  away  by  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  239. 
Romish    Church    constructed    on    the 
ruins  of  the  Roman  empire,  76. 


S 


Sabbath,  when  used  for  trade,  a  dese- 
cration of  the  holy  vessels,  170. 

Sabbaths,  never  to  be  sacrificed,  53  ', 
the  poor  man's  pi-ivilege,  53. 

Sacrifice  and  oblation  ceased,  reason 
why,  392. 

Salvation,  what  it  is,  407. 

Satan,  his  presence  in  the  rise  and  fall 
of  Mohammedanism,  264 ;  his  power 
limited,  265. 

Sermon,  the  evidence  of  a  good  one, 
26. 

Sermons  unregarded  become  awful 
judgments,  177. 

Seventy  Aveeks,  disputes  about,  377 ; 
are  70  weeks  of  years,  or  490  years, 
380 ;  difficulties  about  when  they 
commence,  382;  a  difficulty  about, 
387, 

Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego, 
reference  to,  23 ;  their  being  fed  at 
the  royal  table  corroborates  the  fact 
that  Daniel  lived  at  the  time  alleged, 
24. 

Shorter  Catechism,  its  excellence,  30. 

Sin,  acknowledgment  of,  299  ;  not 
made  by  God,  299 ;  whence  from, 
Bible  does  not  say,  299 ;  source  of 
evil,  299  ;  wrong  done  to  man's  con- 
science, 299;  wrong  done  to  the 
affections,  300 ;  an  injury  done  to 
reason,  301 ;  injury  done  to  the  soul, 
301;  injury  done  to  society,  301; 
hateful  to  God,  301 ;  forgiveness 
of,  307;  God  alone  forgives,  307; 
unlike  every  thing  else,  353 ;  the 
cause  of  the  ruin  of  men  and  cities, 
417. 

Singularity,  fear  it  not  in  matters  of 
religion,  129. 

Society,  difference  of  God's  and  man's 
plan  for  the  amelioration  of,  109. 

Soul,  importance  of  its  safety,  51;  the, 
kings  cannot  control,  122. 

Stone,  which  is  Christ,  to  fall  suddenly 
on  the  ten  kingdoms,  102;  France 
smitten  by  the,  103. 

Strabo,  Babylon  described  by,  61. 


Strength  and  victory,  source  of,  46. 

Suffering  to  a  Christian  is  paternal, 
365 ;  to  an  unbeliever  is  penal, 
366. 

Symbol,  every,  has  its  counterpart  in 
fact  and  history,  73;  the  four  king- 
doms depicted  under  a  new,  224 ; 
first,  image  of  different  metals,  224; 
second,  four  wild  beasts,  224. 


T 


Tekel  explained,  181 ;  how  to  escape 
this  inscription,  185. 

Ten  toes,  or  divisions  of  fourth  king- 
dom, 55. 

Ten  kingdoms,  55  ;  description  of,  90  ; 
startling  fact  respecting,  90. 

Thanksgiving  to  be  made  when  prayer 
is  answered,  57. 

Time,  a,  in  prophetic  language,  is  a 
year,  232. 

Transgression,  to  finish,  the  first  work 
that  Daniel  predicts  Christ  is  to  ac- 
complish, 363. 

Truth  of  God  lasting,  102. 

Truth  needs  no  apology,  144;  its  tri- 
umph, 249  ;  set  forth  by  ancient  writ- 
ers hierogiyphically,  252. 


Vial,  seventh,  94. 

Victory  and  strength,  source  of,  46. 

Vigilantius  opposed  fasting  and  monke- 
ry, 280. 

Visible  churches,  members  of,  are  not 
all  members  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
407. 

Vision  of  the  king  explained,  58. 


W 


Warriors  and   statesmen   unwittingly 

fulfilling  prophecy,  80. 
Ways,  maay,  to  prove  that  the  narra- 

tiv^e  Daniel  relates  is  from  his  pen, 

24. 
Weeks,  seventy,  commencing  period  of, 

the  seventh  year  of  reign  of  Artax- 

erxes,  387. 
Weighed  and  found  wanting,  185 ;  who 

are,  185. 


466 


INDEX. 


■VVoman,  what  has  raised  her  to  her 

proper  position,  364. 
"Word,  God's,  stronger  than  all  besides, 

102. 
Works,  God's,  in  all,  infinite  detail  and 

patient  labour,  44. 


X 


Xenophon,  his  authority  to  prove  the 
fact  that  women  went  to  festivals, 
26 ;  description  of  the  last  king  of 
Babylon  by,  26 ;  his  description  of 


city  of  Babylon,  60  j 
pire  of  Cyrus,  74. 


describes  em- 


Years,  379 ;  divided  by  the  prophet 
into  three  periods,  381. 

Young  men  need  every  argument  to 
convince  them  of  the  inspiration  of 
Scripture,  24;  a  lesson  to,  48. 

Youths,  the  Hebrew,  their  firm  ad- 
herence to  principle,  35;  circum- 
stances of,  39. 


THE  END. 


STEREOTYPED   BY  L.  JOHNSON  *   CO. 
pniLADELPmA, 


liitoit  ^  aSlakistDH;  Ic^ljilatolpliiu, 


HAVE    JUST     PUBLISHED 


THE  SEPULCHRES  OF  OUR  DEPARTED. 


REV.    F.    R.   ANSPAOH,   A.M., 

HAGERSTOWN,    MARYLAND. 


As  flowers  which  night,  when  day  is  o'er,  perfume, 
Breathes  the  sweet  memory  from  a  good  man's  tomb. 
Sir  E.  B.  Lttton. 


CONTENTS. 


Communion  with  the  Past. 

The  Sacredness  of  the  Sepulchre. 

Visits  to  the  Sepulchres  of  our  De- 
parted. 

Lessons  -which  the  Sepulchre  im- 
parts. 

The  Glory  of  Man. 

In  the  Sepulchre  the  Conflicts  of  Life 
end. 

At  the  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  we 
may  learn  the  Value  of  Life. 

The  Sepulchre  proclaims  the  Evil  of 
Sin. 

The  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  ad- 
monish us  to  be  gentle  and  kind  to 
the  Living. 

Posthumous  Fame.  —  The  Sepulchre 
instructs  us  how  to  Live,  so  as  to  be 

^    remembered  when  Dead. 

The  Repose  of  the  Holy  Dead. 

The  Sepulchre  reminds  us  of  the  Value 
and  Immortality  of  the  Soul. 


The  Hope  of  Resurrection  divests  the 
Sepulchre  of  its  Terrors,  and  brings 
Consolation  to  the  Bereaved. 

The  Indestructibility  of  the  Family 
Bond  a  source  of  Consolation  to  the 
Bereaved. 

At  the  Sepulchres  of  our  Departed  we 
may  also  learn  the  Right  which  God 
holds  in  us  and  our  Families. 

Future  Recognition. 

The  Sympathy  of  Jesus  with  afflicted 
and  bereaved  souls. 

Our  Present  and  our  Future  Home. 

Darkness  turned  to  Light,  or  the  Uses 
we  should  make  of  afflictions  and 
bereavements. 

Grave-yards  and  Cemeteries,  or  the 
Claims  of  the  Dead  upon  the  Living, 
and  the  Care  which  should  be  be- 
stowed upon  the  Places  of  their  Re- 
pose. 


One  Volume,  12mo.    Price,  $1  00. 


f  iniMtt  k  %kMm\,  ^c^jiilnhlpliiri; 


HAVE    RECENTLY   PUBLISHED 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


BEV.  THEOPHILUS  STOEK,  D.D. 


"  Of  such,  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." — Jesus. 
<'  How  oft,  heart-sick  and  sore, 
I've  wished  I  were,  once  more, 
A  little  child."— Mrs.  Southet. 


CONTENTS, 


INTRODUCTION. — THE  WONDERS  OF 
BETHLEHEM. 

The  "  Holy  Child  Jesus."  The  Child- 
hood and  Youth  of  Christ.  The  De- 
vout Simeon,  with  the  Infant  Saviour 
in  his  arms.  Jesus  among  the  Doc- 
tors in  the  Temple.  Tlie  sympathy 
of  Christ  with  little  children.  The 
beauty  of  childhood.  Poetical  quo- 
tations from  Wordsworth. 

LITTLE    CHILDREN   BROUGHT   TO   THE 
SAVIOUR. 

Explanation  of  the  scene  in  Mark  x. 
13,  14.  The  Disciples'  conduct. 
The  probable  reasons  of  their  inter- 
ference. The  Saviour's  displeasure 
at  their  conduct.  His  affectionate 
welcome  to  children.  How  parents 
now  may  prevent  children  from 
going  to  Christ.  An  earnest  dis- 
suasive from  such  deportment.  The 
importance  of  example.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  home-spirit.  The  posi- 
tive duty  of  bringing  our  children 
to  the  Saviour. 


THE    CHILDREN   IN   THE   TEMPLE. 

Explanation  of  the  temple-scene,  Matt, 
xxi.  15,  16.  The  hosanna  of  the 
children.  The  displeasure  of  the 
priests  and  scribes.  The  Saviour's 
vindication  of  the  children.  Ps. 
viii.  2,  explained.  The  importance 
of  early  impressions.     Reformation. 

One  neat  12mo.  Volume,  Cloth,  gilt.    Price,  75  cents. 


National  education.  Sunday  schools. 
Facts,  showing  that  children  trained 
in  religion  will  become  the  cham- 
pions of  truth  and  virtue.  Beautiful 
visions  of  the  future. 

TIMOTHY. 

His  early  religious  education.  The 
influence  of  matei-nal  piety.  Eunice 
an  example  for  the  imitation  of  mo- 
thers. The  *'  child  father  of  the 
man."  Instruction  and  piety  com- 
bined. Encouragement  to  pious 
mothers. 

THE    INFANTICIDE    AT   BETHLEHEM. 

Explanation  of  the  scene.  Seeming 
incongruity.  Vindication  of  Divine 
Providence,  in  the  massacre  of  the 
infants.  Infant  martyrs.  The  scene, 
suggestive  of  the  following  topics  : 

1.  The  death  of  little  children.  Sources 
of  consolation.  Providence.  Infant 
salvation. 

2.  Mission  of  children.  The  advent 
of  a  little  child  in  the  family.  The 
child  at  home.  The  sick  and  dying 
child.     The  memory. 

3.  Children  in  heaven.  Beautiful  as- 
■pect  of  the  heavenly  home. 

4.  Recognition.  Difiiculties  of  the 
doctrine.  Scriptural  aspect  of  the 
subject.  David.  Recognition  of  the 
loved  and  lost  in  heaven. 

Conclusion. 


Date  Due 

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